


Time and Time Again

by Zamora



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Slow Burn, anyways you definitely shouldn't waste your time reading this, but the story primarily focuses on the aang/oc relationship, established zutara, minor nods to the comic series that followed the show, some lore from the legend of korra tossed in because why not?, takes place 6 years after the show ends, the rating is definitely gonna get bumped up in the later chapters, this is senseless self-indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-09-13 21:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16900494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zamora/pseuds/Zamora
Summary: When Aang is called to the  Fire Nation by his old friend Zuko, he's not entirely sure what to expect, but he certainly wasn't expecting to be told that the Fire Nation had found another living airbender.As Aang tries to help the stranger acclimate to a post-war world, the alliances between the nations grow tense once more, friendships and loyalties are tested, and ancient spirits that are drawn back together time and time again get to reunite once more.





	1. We're A Dying Breed

**Author's Note:**

> Like the tags say, this is really just silly self-indulgent fic that I'm posting on AO3 because it'll be easy for me to find it later on when I've finished writing it and I want to re-read it.
> 
> As the tags say; all characters have been aged up from the end of the show. And the Katara/Zuko pairing isn't the main focus of the fic even though there's plenty of it in here.

Aang stayed on Appa’s back a moment longer than necessary, his eyes drifting over the sprawling, manicured landscape laying before the Firelord’s palace. He drew in a deep breath, steeling himself in for the encounter to come when a small group of onlookers began to emerge from nearby buildings; government officials, soldiers, and a few civilians all interested in the Avatar’s presence. He knew better than to linger long enough to let someone try to strike up a conversation, otherwise he’d never be able to slip away to find out why he was called here in the first place. 

He jumped off of Appa’s back with ease, landing with the natural grace that only an airbender could ever master. Trailing a hand through his bisons thick, coarse fur as he stepped towards the palace. He closed the distance resting between him and the doors to the main foyer of the Firelord’s palace, _Zuko’s_ palace. He forced himself not to hesitate as he pushed the thick double doors open, knowing that if he did, he’d just wind up attempting to stall once more. 

He stepped inside the palace foyer with determination, quickly glancing around the room at the few civilians waiting to plead their cases to their King and Queen. Cries for more soldier patrols, more crop subsidies, new school supplies, and the like. Even the man currently standing in the center of the room, asking if his Earth Kingdom relatives might be granted Fire Kingdom citizenship, fell silent upon his entry. 

When he was younger Aang may have encouraged everyone to go ahead, to finish their business before he interrupted, but he wasn’t a child anymore, and he didn’t want to have to spend any more time in this palace than was absolutely necessary. “Firelord Zuko.” He spoke up, his deep voice echoing against the walls as he approached the two thrones at the end of the foyer. “Lady Katara.” He continued, forcing her name past his lips even though it still hurt to even think it, let alone say it. 

He came to a stop at the first stair leading up to their thrones, quickly bowing before righting himself, his eyes drifting up to look at the leaders of the Fire Nation. The stab of pain that radiated through his chest at seeing her in the traditional fire nation colors made it hard to find words for a moment, “You requested me?”

“Avatar Aang,” Zuko greeted him, standing from his throne before offering his wife a hand up. “Thank you for coming.” The Firelord continued as he started down the steps, clasping Aang’s shoulder in a firm grip before tugging him towards a single-person door laid into the wall a few feet away. “We need your help with something, or rather someone.”

“Can’t handle them on your own?” Aang chuckled, the sound strained. He swallowed thickly as he tried to force down the emotions surging through him, he’d been recovering from Katara’s rejection for years now, but every time he saw her it reopened the old wounds. He was beginning to doubt that they would ever really heal. 

“It’s not that,” Zuko answered quickly, releasing his grip on Aang's shoulder the moment they stepped through the door and into a long, narrow hallway. “It’s a little more… complex.” He explained as he gestured to the staircase at the end of the hall, beckoning Aang onwards.

“Political matters?” 

“Oh, no,” Zuko shook his head at the notion. “A squadron of my soldiers recently captured a group of slavers. They’ve been properly dealt with, and the slaves are being reintegrated into society.”

“And what, _exactly_ , does this have to do with my visit?”

“Well, one of the former slaves is being very uncooperative.”

“I’m the Avatar, Zuko,” Aang sighed, following the firebender down the flight of stairs, Katara following closely behind the both of them. “I have more important things to be doing than-”

“At least let me get to the punchline, old friend,” Zuko cut him off before he could finish, descending the last few stairs before stopping at a solid looking metal door. A single blast of fire was enough to unlock the special door, and it swung open on groaning hinges, opening to a dimly lit corridor. “She hasn’t spoken since she’s gotten here. She’s been… aggressive, to say the least. And she won’t let anyone near her to attend to her wounds.” He explained as they started down another long hallway. Thick, armored metal doors lined the walls on both sides, an occasional bang or shout coming from behind a few of them. They were in a jail. Aang could recognize the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of a line of cages anywhere.

“So you locked her in a prison cell,” Aang stated dryly, shooting Zuko a look that managed to draw a guilty expression from the firebender for a moment. 

“We had to, for the safety of our guards.” There was no defense in the words, just a simple admittance of the facts.

“So she’s a bender?”

“She’s not just a bender, Aang!” Katara spoke up, her voice so bright and full of life that it made another pang of hurt radiate through his chest as she pushed past him, stopping in front of him as she reached out and braced her hands on his arms, forcing him to come to a stop. “She’s an airbender!”

The words took a moment to settle in, and even then, the disbelief at the mere thought made him burst out laughing. “I’m sorry…” He trailed off with a chuckle, shaking his head as he stared down at the waterbender standing before him. “What?” He questioned, waiting for her or Zuko to start laughing, waiting for either of them to tell him that it had been a joke, a cruel one, but a joke nonetheless. 

“We found another airbender! You’re not alone anymore,” Katara explained, her blue eyes sparkling with hope as she stared up at him. The fake smile on Aang’s face faded as quickly as it had arrived, shock making him numb to the news that he was no longer _the last_ surviving airbender. He blinked dumbly, still coming to terms with the news when Zuko spoke up once more.

“We thought that you could talk to her. Perhaps convince her that we aren’t going to hurt her.” Aang looked over at Zuko as he spoke, the realization finally settling in as a strange sort of lightness that he hadn’t experienced much since he’d grown out of childhood quickly took up residence in his chest. “You’re a fellow airbender, she’ll likely listen to you.” 

“Is she a master?” The question was quiet, his voice barely even there as he spoke.

“She doesn’t have the tattoos, although that could just be because your people have been gone for so long,” Zuko explained as he continued down the hallway, leaving Aang to stare after him for a moment before he finally managed to will his feet to move. 

“Just think, Aang.” Katara began, following behind her husband as she spoke animatedly. “Another airbender!” A laugh escaped her at the words, the light, airy sound echoing down the otherwise silent corridor, lending life to the grey atmosphere. “A _lady_ airbender,” She added a moment later, a slight leer entering her voice as she leaned in and nudged Aang’s side with her elbow.

“Are you suggesting that I sleep with her, Katara?” The question came out harsher than he meant for it too, something in him heating at the thought of his people already being exploited once again. 

“I’m just saying, that if you two did happen to…” She trailed off for a moment, simply shrugging before she continued, “fancy each other, your children would be airbenders!” Her voice picked up towards the end once again, and a soft scowl found the corners of his mouth at the statement. Something in him curdled in distaste at the blunt statement, but he also knew that it _was_ the truth.

“I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself,” Aang stated simply, forcing his voice level as his thoughts dipped into the same territory that Katara’s were in. As much as he tried to ignore it, to pretend like it wasn’t a weight pulling at his shoulders every moment of every day, the airbender population, or lack thereof, was one of many problems that made it harder than it should be for him to find sleep at night. “Is she even of a decent age?” He regretted the question the moment it came out of his mouth, silently scolding himself for even thinking about making a wife out of someone that he’d never even met before. 

“If she isn’t, then she’s close,” Zuko answered simply, no hint of judgment tainting his voice as he slowed to a stop before a plain, metal cell door. Lifting an open hand towards it in a clear gesture for him to enter. Aang swallowed thickly as he stepped towards the door, resting a hand on the cool metal handle before drawing in a long breath and finally pushing it open. 

The bright bolt of light from the hallway cut a swath through the dimly lit cell, illuminating the plain stone floor as he stepped inside, his eyes acclimating to the dark when he just barely managed to catch some movement out of the corner of his peripheral vision. He lifted a hand just in time to deflect a massive blast of wind, the air curving around his body harmlessly. 

He glanced up at his attacker a moment later, his eyes landing on the slight frame of a teenager pressed into a corner of the room, a ball of swirling air spinning beneath her fingers. “It’s alright,” Aang spoke up, his voice soft as he slowly lifted both of his hands in a placating gesture of peace. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

His eyes roamed over her, taking her in as a sharp pang of guilt resonated through his chest, he shouldn’t have waited to travel to the fire nation, if he had known the reason he’d been called, he wouldn’t have made her suffer in this cell a day longer than absolutely necessary. Her long dark hair was a wild mess, her fire nation clothes were too large for her frame if you could even call the tattered scraps of cloth clothes, and even from this distance he could see cuts and scrapes covering her arms, her hands, her face. “You’re an airbender.” The words were sharp, hardened, but there was a hint of surprise beneath it all, a hint of disbelief. 

“As are you.” He stated softly, watching as the spinning ball of air hovering under her fingertips slowly began to dissipate.

“The airbenders are all dead.” The words were bit out with such a fierce hatred that he almost wanted to shrink back at them, her mouth turned down in a snarl as she drew in a harsh, ragged breath. It took him a moment to recognize that the hate and thinly contained violence was a front, a way to hide pain and suffering, or a way to release them. 

“I thought the same thing,” Aang answered, his voice soft as he slowly let his hands drift back down to his sides. “And yet here we are.” She faltered a bit at that, her posture softening ever so slightly as she let her guard down just a bit, her eyes roaming over his skin as he quickly realized that she was looking at his airbending tattoos. “What’s your name?”

Her dark eyes flicked up to meet his own at the question, a long lapse of silence dragging on. For a moment, Aang thought that she wasn’t going to answer, but then her voice broke the silence once more, “Nira.”

He nodded at her answer, wetting his lips before he offered his own, “I’m Aang.”

“Aang.” She repeated quietly, her voice testing out the syllable of his name. Something in him tightened at the sound, and he elected to ignore it as he focused on the situation at hand.

“I’ve been told that you aren’t letting anyone attend to you.” The words died in the air, fading out around the two of them as she stared back at him silently. “Why?” He pressed, watching her shake her head as she pressed herself back against the stone wall.

“The fire nation doesn’t help people like me,” Nira answered, her voice quickly growing heated once more. “It’s a trap.”

“Do you think I’m a trap?” Aang stepped closer as he asked, watching some unsure expression flicker across her face for a moment. 

“I don’t know.” She admitted, her voice losing some of its fire as she deflated slightly.

Aang took it as a good sign, at least she wanted to trust him, even if she didn’t yet. “How old are you, Nira?” He pressed, hoping to get more information out of her.

“Sixteen.” Her answer was simple, her voice growing smaller as her eyes drifted down to the stone underfoot. Aang tried his best to act entirely unmoved by her response, at the knowledge that she was technically old enough to be on her own even if she wasn’t quite an adult yet, at the knowledge that she was of age to marry with her parents' consent.

“Where are your parents?” He questioned, his thoughts quickly drifting away from marriage. She was an airbender, so at least one of her parents was one as well.

“They’re dead.” Her voice broke on the words, a rough, grating noise that stirred a pang of sympathy in his chest. “The men who took me, they killed them.” She explained, the words rough as she struggled to get them out. A harsh wave of anger rolled through him at the information, airbenders were practically nonexistent these days, and a group of people just killed one or two of them for no legitimate reason. Part of him wanted to hunt down the perpetrators and deal out their justice on his own, but another part of him knew that it wasn’t the way of his people; they weren’t killers, they were merciful, and he’d always strived to live his life according to their values. 

A strangled noise that was almost a sob managed to wrench itself free from her, and suddenly all thoughts of vengeance fled from his mind. Her parents were gone, he couldn’t do anything about that, but she was still here. “I’m sorry, Nira,” Aang spoke up softly, stepping closer as he reached out a hand to soothe her, but she only shied away from the movement, a wince pulling at her mouth as she bumped her shoulder against the wall behind her. 

His eyes quickly took in the awkward slump of her arm, the way she held it as though she was trying to move it as little as possible. Zuko had mentioned that she’d been refusing to let anyone care for her wounds, and she was obviously paying the price for it. “You’re hurt. You need medical care,” Aang stated, nodding towards her bad arm before quickly continuing, “I know a very skilled healer, she’s a waterbender, you should let her fix that.” 

Nira shook her head fiercely at the suggestion, fear and uncertainty tugging at her features as she refused to budge. Aang held in a lofty sigh at the reaction, he didn’t blame her for being frightened, but he needed her to cooperate, she couldn’t spend the rest of her days locked in a Fire Nation prison cell. “Please, Nira,” Aang pressed, desperation leaking into his tone as he took another step closer. “You’re _the only_ other airbender I’ve found. You have to look out for yourself. We’re a dying breed.”

The words seemed to have their intended effect, a long beat of silence passing before she let out a long breath, her eyebrows pursing together as she glowered at the floor. “Do you trust her?” Nira’s words were soft, resigned, _defeated_. “The healer?”

Aang nodded simply, doing his best to ignore growing desire to comfort her, to pull her into his arms and cradle her against his chest until she finally believed that she was safe, that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her; but he knew that doing so wouldn’t elicit a warm response, she needed her space right now, that much was obvious. “With my life.” He answered, watching as her eyes flicked back up to meet his, a sliver of uncertainty still reflected in them. “I’ll go with you, if it makes it easier,” Aang offered gently, giving her a half-smile that seemed to have no effect on her mood. 

It took a moment before she finally nodded, a soft huff of a sigh escaping her as she finally stepped forward. Nira’s steps shuffled against the ground, a soft grating noise that echoed against the silence of the stone walls. She glanced up at him as she stepped past, and he turned to pull the cell door all the way open as he ignored the urge to reach out and rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Her eyes quickly found the floor once more as she stepped over the threshold, and Aang followed directly after her.

He barely even got to step out of the dimly lit cell before a rough, startled gasp came from the younger airbender. He glanced up to see what the commotion was about when she quickly backtracked, stepping into him and throwing him slightly off balance in an attempt to put some distance between herself and Zuko. She quickly wound up for a blow with her good arm, a swirling vortex of air easily growing beneath her fingertips. Aang quickly reached out, his hand hovering above hers as he tried to counteract her bending, “He’s alright.” The swirling vortex finally began to slow, losing strength until it finally dissipated. “It’s okay,” Aang reassured her as he pulled away, earning a sharp glare from the fiery-tempered girl.

“He’s a firebender.” The words were hissed, a snarl pulling at the curve of her mouth.

“He’s also my friend,” Aang replied firmly, not giving Nira a chance to respond before he looked over at Katara. “Katara, would you?” 

The waterbender nodded as she stepped closer, “Of course.” She quickly lifted an arm and beckoned Nira forward, “I’ll have you fixed up in no time.” A long second passed as Nira remained rooted in place, quickly glancing up at Aang in question, the anger once again seemingly washed away with worry. He simply offered her what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he nodded towards Katara, drawing a soft sigh from the younger airbender as she finally stepped forward, making sure to keep a wide berth from Zuko. 

Katara wrapped a gentle arm around the smaller woman's shoulders, carefully leading her down the hallway as Zuko stepped around to Aang’s side. “So, she speaks.” He chuckled softly, shaking his head as he watched the two women depart. “Learn anything?”

“Not much,” Aang answered, offering a shrug before he added, “She’s sixteen.”

Zuko’s expression sobered up at the words, and he lifted his eyebrow as he bluntly stated, “Of age to wed.”

Aang glowered at his words, his lips pursing into a thin line as he gave the Firelord a pointed look. “I don’t even know her, Zuko.” He began softly, his tone scolding as he continued, “She’s scared, hurt, starving. Now is the least opportune time to think of such matters.”

Aang glanced back over at the two women as soon as he finished, watching as Nira quickly glanced over her shoulder at him. “But you are nonetheless,” Zuko’s soft words earned the firebender a sharp glare and a long-suffering sigh. Aang shook his head softly as he started forward, quickly catching up to the women with long strides as they approached the staircase that would lead them back into the main palace.

He followed behind the two of them, watching as Katara gently ran a hand up and down Nira’s upper arm, her soothing voice filling the air a moment later, “You're so cold, we're going to have to warm you up.” When a moment passed with no response she quickly pressed, “Is your arm the only thing that hurts?” 

“No,” Nira answered plainly, her voice lacking emotion, a stark contrast to Katara’s warm motherly tone.

“What else hurts?”

“Everything.” Aang winced at the answer, he knew what she really meant; that Katara wouldn’t be able to make it all better because her wounds went deeper than her skin. Sometimes the only thing that could really heal was time, he knew that better than anyone. Katara made a soft humming sound at Nira’s answer, nodding silently as they stopped on a riser and she opened a plain metal door to her left.

Katara entered the room first, and after a brief moment of deliberation, Nira followed after her. Aang stepped into the threshold of the door before looking around, a few thick mats were laid out on the floor symmetrically, and he quickly pieced together that this must be some sort of break room, probably for the guards that had to patrol the jail lying a story below. 

“Here, lay down,” Katara requested, gesturing towards one of the several mats as she made her way over to the sink on the far side of the room. Aang watched as Nira eyed the mat cautiously for a moment, her eyes flicking over to Katara’s back when the soft sound of running water filled the room. 

“It's alright, Nira.” He offered softly, stepping further into the room before settling down on the floor next to one of the mats, hoping that it would spur her to do as Katara asked. It took another second before she followed suit, laying down on the red mat stiffly, as though every little movement hurt. 

Katara only took a moment longer before she turned off the running water, making her way back over to them as the liquid swirled under her hands. Nira visibly tensed when Katara got on her knees beside her, obviously not yet entirely trusting the waterbender. “Stay still for me,” Katara requested as she reached out, her hands hovering just above Nira’s skin as the water began to glow a soft white. “It might hurt every now and then, but I need you to be strong.” 

The only response Katara got was a long, controlled exhale as she started to run her hands over the smaller woman's arm. Every so often Katara would pause, focusing on healing one specific area for a moment before continuing on, thankfully there were no complications until she reached Nira’s injured shoulder. Katara paused for a long moment, a soft frown pulling at the curve of her mouth before she spoke up, “How long has this arm been dislocated?”

“How long have I been here?”

“One week.”

Aang grit his teeth at the answer, not that he was particularly surprised that it had taken four days for the messenger firehawk to reach the Southern Air Temple, but it still seemed like far too long to keep someone locked up when they’d never even committed a crime. 

“Almost four weeks,” Nira answered Katara’s original question a moment later. 

A long sigh escaped the waterbender as she shook her head, quietly muttering, “That explains why there’s so much nerve damage.” 

“Meaning?” Aang questioned, his eyebrows pursuing together as he wondered what exactly she was trying to say.

“Meaning that this… is going to be a lot more painful than it should be,” Katara sighed, shaking her head as she stared down at the other woman. “Aang.” She looked up as she spoke his name, his eyes meeting hers before she quickly added, “Hold her down.”

Aang immediately did as Katara asked, resting a firm hand on Nira’s good shoulder and pressing her down into the mat as she startled at Katara’s words. “What?” Nira yelped, squirming as she attempted to free herself just before Katara placed her hands over her shoulder, pressing down hard as a loud, sickening pop echoed through the room a second before Nira’s sharp cry of pain followed. Aang grit his teeth at the noise, ignoring the way it jabbed at his chest like a dagger. It wasn’t until Katara pulled her hands away from Nira’s shoulder until he finally let go of her, watching as she drew a shaking breath before blowing it out through gritted teeth.

Nira sat up before Katara could finish healing her, wiping away a loose tear as she clearly struggled to regain control of her breathing. “Okay, I’m done.” She protested quietly, a cough wracking her body as soon as she finished speaking.

“No, you’re not,” Katara stated gently, reaching a hand out to touch the airbender before another bought of coughs wracked her body. 

“Why don’t you just kill me and put me out of my misery already?” The question was harsh, and much to Aang’s horror, it didn’t seem to be meant to mock, but was rather all too genuine.

“No one’s going to kill you,” Aang spoke up before Katara could, watching as Nira slowly looked back over at him, her dark grey eyes meeting his for a long moment before he spoke up once more, “You _need_ this. Lay back down.”

For a moment he thought that Nira was going to deny his request, but after a long moment she finally gave in, flopping back down on the mat with a soft huff. Katara quickly shot him a grateful look before she settled back into her work, going over Nira’s arm again, slower this time than before. He wasn’t sure exactly how long it took for Katara to heal her, only that she had to get up twice to get fresh water when hers stopped glowing, it’s healing ability effectively leached out. The rest of Katara’s time spent healing her wounds passed without protest, scrapes and bruises disappearing under the power of her bending, not even scars left remaining.

“There, all done,” Katara finally spoke up after what felt like had been hours, even her voice was tired as she stood up, quickly bending the water around her hands into the sink across the room.

“Thank you,” Nira offered softly as she sat up, no longer wincing at the simple movements that clearly caused her pain before.

“Of course,” Katara answered simply, making her way towards the open metal door a few feet away as she added, “I'll talk about getting you chambers for the time being. Then you can finally get cleaned up.” She disappeared through the door before she even finished speaking, her voice echoing back into the room as she went to find someone to handle the task.

Silence lapsed on for a moment as Aang watched Nira pull her knees up into her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “Feeling better?” He asked when she made no move to do anything but stare at the adjacent wall blankly. 

Her eyes flicked over to meet his before she quietly answered, “A bit.” 

Aang nodded at the response, silence settling over the room again before he spoke up, “You do know that the war is over, right?” The nagging suspicion that she still thought the Fire Nation was an enemy had been chewing at him ever since he learned of her existence. Why bother to fight back against someone who doesn’t mean you any harm? Either she had no idea what the world was like now, or the Fire Nation soldiers that had liberated her and the other ‘slaves’ had to have been needlessly threatening. 

The moment his voice died Nira uncurled from herself, turning to face him with the natural speed that all airbenders' possessed that always seemed to throw others off. “It is?” She questioned, disbelief tainting her voice as she stared at him with wide eyes, surprise lacing her features. 

Aang nodded at her question, part of him wondering where she’d been hiding for the last six years to have never heard the news. “It is.” He answered, “The four nations are at peace again.”

Nira shook her head softly at the answer, her eyebrows pursing together as she stared at him as though she was seeking some sort of clarification. “How?”

“The Avatar,” Aang answered simply, silently choosing not to divulge the entirety of his identity quite yet. He wasn’t sure if an admittance that he was the Avatar would be met with joy or anger, or perhaps like it was accepted by a few others, with fear. “He defeated Firelord Ozai.”

“The Avatar is alive?” Nira pressed, her expression quickly growing more confused as her eyes found the plain floor. 

“Alive and well.” 

Nira nodded at the words, pursing her lips into a thin line as she tapped her fingers against the mat lying beneath her for a second. “My parents told me that he died.” She admitted, her voice small as she worried her lower lip between her teeth. “That he…” She trailed off with a shrug, her eyes meeting his once more before she finished, “abandoned us when we needed him the most.” 

Aang almost winced at the guilt that coiled inside of him at the simple statement. She wasn’t wrong, he had abandoned all of them when they needed him the most. If he’d just been there when the Fire Nation had attacked he might have been able to save them, at least some of them. Aang did his best to shove the thoughts away, he knew that reminiscing on what he would do differently if he had a second chance would do no one any good. 

“He was only a child back then.” He began solemnly, “And he was scared… of his destiny, of his power… of his people stripping away everything he was and everyone he loved.” Aang swallowed thickly as he tried to force the swirling storm of emotions brewing inside of him back down. “He didn't know that the Fire Nation was coming.” He explained softly, his eyes finding the polished floor as he finished, “He wouldn't have left if he knew his people needed him.”

“You know him?” Nira questioned, curiosity and surprise laced in her voice as she stared at him with wide eyes.

“Quite well.” 

“But I thought you said that I was the only other airbender you've ever found,” Nira stated, confusion lacing her voice as she stared at him as though she was searching for some lie in his words. A long beat of silence passed as she pieced the facts together, an almost astonished expression pulling at her features as she spoke up, “Are you…” Her voice died in the silence as her eyes grew wider, quickly wetting her lips before her question cut through the quiet, “Are you the Avatar?”

A long lapse of silence dragged on before Aang’s soft voice finally broke the quiet, “I'm sorry.” He swallowed as he stared down at the floor, the weight of his guilt dragging down his shoulders. “I failed our people,” Aang muttered, drawing in a shuddering breath at the thought of everyone who had died because of him. “I failed you.” He breathed, his muscles tensing slightly as he fully prepared for an outburst, he certainly deserved one.

“Our people aren't gone, Aang,” Nira’s voice was gentle when she finally spoke up, her small hand wrapping around his larger one without hesitation. Aang quickly looked up at her as her cold skin seared against his flesh, her stormy grey eyes boring into his own as he searched for any signs on judgment and came up empty. “Not yet.” She stated, squeezing his hand a little tighter as she spoke.

Aang struggled to think of a response for a moment, his mouth falling open at the entirely unexpected gesture of forgiveness. Before he could spur his mouth into forming a coherent sentence, Katara’s crisp voice was cutting through the room, “Nira.” She pulled her hand from his the second Katara’s feminine voice filled the air, the moment effectively broken as she startled at the sudden lack of privacy. Aang glanced over at the door a moment after Nira did, his eyes quickly looking over Katara before settling on Zuko as he stood beside her, a smile tugging at his mouth as he gave him a knowing smile. “I've figured out your living situation. Would you like to come with me?”

Nira quickly looked back over at him, her mouth falling open as she started to speak, but Aang effectively cut her off before she could even begin, “We'll talk later. You need to take care of yourself.” He nodded towards Katara as he spoke. Nira seemed to deflate slightly at his statement, pursing her lips into a line before silently nodding her agreement. 

Aang watched as she stood up with ease, making her way over to Katara with a new lightness in her steps, even if she was still clearly a bit on edge. As soon as the two women left the room, their steps fading down the hallway, Zuko’s smirk grew more exaggerated. “You haven't even known her for an hour and she's already holding your hand.” The Firelord remarked mischievously, earning a lofty sigh from Aang as he stood up.

“Are you enjoying this?” The question was defensive, and Aang knew that he was being harsh on his friend, but annoyance kept welling up deep within him every time they kept trying to push the two of them together. He knew what it was like to be pressured into doing something you didn’t want to, yet he accepted it when it happened to him because he was the Avatar, it was his duty. Nira was just a person, she owed no one anything, and they needed to stop pretending as though she did. 

“Shouldn't I be?” Zuko asked, genuine confusion laced in his voice. For a moment Aang considered explaining the situation, asking Zuko how he would feel if he was trapped in ‘enemy’ territory, to explain that he didn’t want to start a relationship with someone who was only with him because they felt as though they needed to exchange physical affection for safety. He knew that the Firelord wouldn’t exactly understand even if he tried to put his concerns into words. 

Aang simply shook his head as he started towards the door, but Zuko stopped him before he could leave, a warm hand resting on his shoulder as the firebender blocked his path. “Aang,” Zuko began, his voice softening as his golden brown eyes bored into his own, “I know that you never fully moved on from Katara, and I'm sorry, I am. But she made her choice.”

Aang knew that his old friends' words weren’t meant to sting the way they did, but it was the entirely nonchalant way that he reminded him that Katara hadn’t picked him that cut deep. “Yes. I'm well aware.” He grit out, shrugging Zuko’s hand from his shoulder before immediately adding, “When were you planning on announcing the pregnancy?”

Zuko’s eyes grew wide at the question, his mouth falling open before he softly breathed, “You know?”

“I'm the Avatar. I can sense two souls in one body,” Aang scoffed, rolling his eyes. A few years ago he wouldn’t have been able to sense it, but he’d grown more than anyone realized since the war ended, getting in touch with the source of his Avatar spirit had made him stronger than he could have ever imagined. 

Zuko drew in a long breath, running a hand across the back of his neck before he finally answered, “We were going to announce it at the summer solstice conference.”

Aang nodded at the answer, blowing out a long breath as he forced himself to try and let go of the deep seeded jealousy that was burning inside of him. Katara and Zuko had been married for years, they were happy together, and soon they would be welcoming their firstborn into the world. They should be happy, he should be happy for them, but he’d always had a hard time giving her up. Now that things were changing he knew he had a choice to make, he could continue to dwell on the past, to keep trying to live in the old days when things were simple, or he could let go of the past and finally make room to move on to the future. 

“Well, you have my congratulations, Firelord Zuko.” He spoke up after a long moment, his voice resigned.

“Thank you,” Zuko muttered, something almost like guilt tainting his voice. The sound tugged at Aang’s chest, his lingering affection for Katara was starting to poison not only him but everyone around him too. It was Zuko’s reaction that gave him the final push he needed to finally start letting her go once and for all.

“I'd like to give your firstborn my blessing, if you would allow it,” Aang offered, watching as Zuko’s eyes widened with surprise.

“You… actually want to do that?”

Aang nodded at the question, offering his friend a small smile, “Of course.” When Zuko’s mouth fell open slightly, Aang stepped forward before continuing, “We're still friends, Zuko. Did it hurt when Katara chose you over me? Yes. Of course it did. But I think I’ve finally come to terms with it.” He reached out, resting his hands on the firebenders' shoulders and straightening the soft slump of his posture. “You both deserve your happiness.” 

A smile brightened Zuko’s features, a weight seemingly lifting off the firebender. “And you deserve yours,” Zuko offered, stepping out from under Aang’s hands as he glanced over his shoulder at the empty hallway. “Do you like her?” He asked curiously, something hopeful in his voice as he brought up Nira. 

“I don't know her, Zuko,” Aang sighed, shrugging before shoving his hands in the pockets of his loose robes. “Why are you pushing me towards her so hard?”

“Is it not obvious? You're both airbenders'!” Zuko’s voice lit up as he spoke. “And as far as we know, you're both the last of your kind.” Zuko gave him a very pointed look before finishing, “One airbender, plus another airbender, equals little airbenders'.”

Aang couldn’t help but smile at the words, rolling his eyes as he spoke up, “Yes, well, I'm glad that you're so concerned with the airbender population.”

“Are you not?” The concern and shock in Zuko’s voice was practically tangible, and Aang sighed at the worried question.

“Of course I am.” He answered simply, pulling his hands from his pockets and he shrugged dramatically. “But… seeing as how the only idea put forth by any nation was to stud me out to harems of women, I’d basically accepted that our time had come to an end.”

Zuko mulled over his answer for a second, nodding silently before he spoke up, “And now?” Aang lifted a single eyebrow as he stared back at his friend, not bothering to hide his unamusement. “She would make for a suitable wife, would she not?”

“I don’t doubt that she would. But she needs to acclimate to this new world before anything like that happens, Zuko,” Aang answered softly. Nira wasn’t broken, but she was injured, literally and metaphorically. The last thing either of them needed was to go getting involved with one another right now. “She needs time. She needs to heal.” He pressed, hoping that Zuko would realize his reasoning. The Firelord pursed his lips at the statement, but nodded along nonetheless. 

Silence brewed in the room for a moment before Aang spoke up once more, his voice soft, “Did you know the slavers killed her parents?” Zuko’s head snapped up at the question, anger pulling at his expression. “At least one of them was an airbender, maybe even both of them,” Aang breathed, a sad twinge of mourning pulling at his chest at the thought of the people he never got the chance to meet, people who were likely just like him.

“Do you want me to strengthen the severity of their sentences?” Zuko asked, and Aang could tell that his words were more of an offer than a question. 

“They’re your prisoners. It’s not my place to request harsher judgment,” Aang answered, shaking his head as his eyes flicked up to meet Zuko’s. “But even if it was, I wouldn’t ask for that.” He continued, blowing out a long breath. Revenge was only a temporary satisfaction, and it wasn’t the way his people had lived.

Zuko nodded at his words, seemingly appeased by his answer even though it was obvious that he didn’t agree. A long beat of silence filled the room before Zuko stepped away, making his way out of the room before stopping in the threshold of the door. “You should take her with you, to the Southern Air Temple.” He offered, immediately continuing, “It’s her home too.”

Before Aang could respond he slipped out of the room and down the hallway, leaving him with his thoughts for company, and the realization that Zuko was right. She was an airbender, and he should at least let her know that she was welcome at the Air Temples, they were just as much hers as they were his.


	2. Aren’t You A Little Over Qualified

Nira followed Katara down the labyrinthine hallways, part of her was almost certain that the woman was purposely taking the most convoluted route possible, to make sure that she’d never be able to escape on her own. Whenever a duo of firebending guards passed she tensed, her senses going on high alert as she waited for them to lash out; and every time that they passed without incident she blew out a shaking breath, adrenaline making her flightier than normal. 

It seemed like they’d been walking forever when Katara finally came to a stop, her hand finding the gilded golden handle of an ornately decorated door before she pushed it in, letting it swing open and revealing a fully furnished bedroom. Nira drew in a breath at the sight of a real bed with pillows _and_ blankets, she could barely even remember the last time she’d gotten to sleep in a bed. “You should bathe, It’ll warm you up,” Katara’s motherly voice filled the air, pulling Nira’s attention from the tempting thought of actually getting to sleep in a real bed. “I’ll find you some clothes and make sure you’re fed.”

Some conflicting mix of suspicion and gratitude filled her at the offer. She’d learned long ago that everything came with a price, she knew for a fact that the Fire Nation wasn’t healing her, feeding her, and clothing her out of the goodness of their hearts. They wanted something, and she intended to escape before they could ask for repayment. “Thank you.” She offered simply a moment later, fully aware that pretending at gratitude and complacency would likely get the Fire Nation to lower their guard. 

Katara nodded, offering her a smile before turning away and heading back the way she came. Nira stood in the doorway of the room, watching as she disappeared around the corner of the hallway. For a moment she contemplated trying to make an escape, but a half-second later she thought better of it. In the state she was in she wouldn’t blend in here, Katara had said that she’d be back sooner rather than later, and on top of that she had to figure out how to rescue Aang from this place; if there was one thing her parents had taught her, it was that airbenders had to look out for each other, because in this world no one else was going to. 

She let out a resigned sigh as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her as she quickly took in her surroundings. It was almost unnerving to stand in a room that screamed luxury when her whole life had been spent in far more humble surroundings, it only served to remind her that she didn’t belong here, that the first chance she got she needed to leave. Nira bypassed the bed, the lumbering wardrobe, and the polished two-person table as she leveled her sights on the only other door in the room. 

She pushed it open carefully, stepping back slightly as it swung open to reveal a lavish washroom. Her eyes quickly drifted over the carved stone tub, the fluffy red towels hanging from hooks along the wall, and her own reflection staring back at her in the massive mirror on the adjacent wall. She clenched her teeth at the sight, stepping into the room as her eyes lingered on the soot smeared across her skin, the wild mess of her hair that had grown far longer than she preferred, the gaunt lines of her cheekbones that only served to remind her of how much weight she’d lost. 

A harsh breath escaped her as she stepped closer, watching as the stranger reflected in the mirror mimicked her movements perfectly. It wasn’t until she pressed her palm flat against the cold mirror that she finally let out a shaking breath, her shoulders falling as her father's charcoal grey eyes stared back at her, as her mother’s chestnut and honey hair clumped in thick mats framing her face. The pieces of them reflected in her only served to wrench her heart in two, a painful reminder that they were gone, that they were never coming back, and that is was _all_ her fault.

The tears came unbidden, a sob tearing free from her chest as she crumpled over the smooth stone countertop. She choked on the air in her lungs as the warring mixture of rage and grief coiling within her threatened to rip her apart from the inside out. She’d never drowned before, but she was certain that it would feel just like this; the pressure, the suffocation, the feeling of utter helplessness. 

She barely heard Katara’s voice at first, a muffled sound that scarcely even reached the bathroom, “I found you some clothes.” She didn’t have a chance to attempt to pull the shattered fragments of spirit back together before Katara’s soft footsteps echoed against the bathroom walls. “Nira?” Her voice was soft, concerned, and it reminded her so much of her mothers that another involuntary sob escaped her at the sound. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” Katara offered gently, her voice soothing and careful, almost as though she was trying not to startle a wild animal.

The second Katara rested a soft hand on her shoulder she jerked away, righting herself and stepping back as she put a few feet of distance between the two of them. “Nothing is okay!” The words tore themselves from her throat as though they had a mind of their own. As though they knew that if they stayed locked up inside of her that they would slowly eat her alive from the inside out. “They’re dead and it’s my fault,” Nira whispered, the softness of her voice deceiving, considering the rage that boiled just under her skin, begging to be set free. 

“Who’s dead?” Katara questioned, concern pulling at the soft curves of her features as she stared back at the smaller woman.

“My parents.” She answered, her voice matching the faraway look in her eyes.

“Nira,” Katara began, quickly pulling the smaller woman back into the present. “I know the pain of losing a parent.” She drew in a long breath before continuing, her voice growing softer, “It’s my fault my mother is dead. She sacrificed herself to save me.” A long lapse of silence grew between the two women, both of them caught up in their own memories of the people they’d lost. “I understand what you’re going through,” Katara added softly, grief making her voice thicker than it normally was.

Nira swallowed at the admission, a shuddering breath escaping her before she willed herself to speak up, “Does it ever get easier?”

Katara met her gaze as she nodded solemnly, “The pain loses its sharpness after a while, but healing takes time.” Nira chewed on her bottom lip at the admission, her eyebrows drawing together as the void that had taken up residence in her chest ebbed away slightly. “Your parents may be gone, but it’s important to remember that they live on in you,” Katara explained softly, stepping closer before reaching out and resting her hands on Nira’s narrow shoulders, “You’re their legacy, and they’ll always be a part of you.” 

Nira nodded at the words, trying to bask in the comfort the words provided, fully knowing that the relief they brought would be purely temporary. “You’re not alone anymore. You have Aang now,” Katara continued, her voice darkening slightly before she continued, “And if I’m being honest, I think he needs you more than you need him.” 

It wasn’t the words themselves, but rather the edge they were uttered with that sent Nira’s instincts on high alert. The note of resignation that made it sound like everything had already been decided without anyone even consulting her, the simple and succinct way the words were uttered that reinforced the thought that she didn’t _have_ a choice, but rather that someone else had taken it from her and made it for her. Her mouth twisted down into the beginnings of a snarl as she stepped back, out from under Katara’s gentle hands. 

“Are you saying that I’m some…” She trailed off, drawing in a rough, angry breath as the air in the room began to stir, reacting to the sudden upset in her emotions, “some token of _repentance_?” She finished, the word dripping with rage at the thought of it. “All mighty Avatar, we’re sorry for destroying your people, here’s a woman to keep your bed warm to make up for it,” Nira ground out through clenched teeth, rage seeping into the icy crevices of her bones at the thought of serving as some peace offering from a nation that she wanted nothing more than to watch crumble. 

“Of course not! Aang would never exploit anyo-”

“But you would,” Nira cut Katara off before she could finish, watching as the other woman struggled with the accusation for a moment. A long beat of silence passed before she finally snapped her mouth shut, her shoulders falling as she seemingly gave up on the notion of defending herself.

“Would it be such a bad thing?” The question was soft and curious, and it only made Nira seethe, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she struggled to contain the flurry of rage simmering just under her skin.

“I didn’t escape one form of bondage just to be forced into a different one,” Nira grit out, her voice dangerously low as she struggled to control her emotions. “If you, or Aang, or anyone ever tries to stand in the way of my freedom, I _will_ destroy the people who thought that I could be controlled.” 

Katara seemed shocked at the outburst at first, but a moment later some hint of a smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as she shook her head, her eyes drifting down to the floor. “No one wants to strip you of your freedom.” She explained, her voice soft. “We all just want to make sure that you find the place where you fit in this world. Wherever that may be.” Nira gave her a skeptical look at the statement, and Katara clearly elected to ignore it as she made her way out of the washroom, pausing in the doorway just long enough to suggest, “You should wash up, dinner is in about an hour.”

Nira held in a huff of breath as she heard the outer door to her chambers shut with an echoing click. Part of her wanted to forego a bath in a simple attempt to spite the other woman, but she quickly shoved the notion away a moment later. She wasn’t going to punish herself just to try and get back at someone else. 

It took a moment for her to figure out which knobs controlled the hot and cold water for the tub, and even longer for it to finally start to fill. She winced slightly when she stepped into the water, the heat searing into her skin almost painfully, but she refused to turn the temperature down. Part of her wanted to strip away all the skin on her body, as though doing so would be able to cleanse her of the past. It only took a few minutes of scrubbing to get rid of all the caked on dirt. Her hair, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.

It didn’t take long for her to realize it was a lost cause, and she let out a long sigh as she got out of the tub. She didn’t bother to worry about the water that pooled at her feet with every step, lingering on the stone floor in steaming puddles, instead she focused on the drawers beneath the mirror. It took a bit of searching before she finally found a pair of scissors, a comforting weight in her hand as she leveled her gaze with the reflection staring back at her. She tried not to think about the first snip too much, raising the scissors to her jaw before closing them. 

It didn’t take long before a heap of tangled tresses lay fallen at her feet, and she didn’t bother to look her handiwork over before returning to the tub, quickly setting to work on the task of getting the remaining tangles out. She spent far longer than she originally meant to in the tub, working on her hair until she could finally run her fingers through it with no resistance, scrubbing her skin a second, and then a third time until it was practically rubbed raw. 

By the time she’d finished the water had gone cold, and it was all the motivation she needed to get out. She dried off as the water drained, stepping into the bedroom to find a stack of pale yellow and burnt orange clothes sitting neatly on the top of the bed. She could recognize the distinct colors anywhere, even though she'd never gotten to wear them. Airbender robes. The sight made tears prick at the back of her eyes, and for a moment she wondered if this was some cruel Fire Nation joke, to remind her of the family she’d lost and the entire race of people who had been murdered in cold blood.

It wasn’t until she reached out, rubbing the hem of the shirt between her thumb and forefinger that she finally resolved to wear them. If anything, to throw spite in the face of the Fire Nation. She was an airbender, and she’d survived despite their best efforts to ensure that she wouldn’t. 

It took a moment to figure out how to put everything on properly, and even then the clothes hung loosely on her, obviously several sizes too large. Despite the obvious fact that they’d been made for someone much larger than her, they felt right; softer than she’d expected, far more breathable than anything she’d ever worn before, and the smell of lemongrass and mint that clung to them somehow reminded her of a home that she’d never had a chance to visit.

She pushed the thoughts of home out of her mind, she’d never had a home, and with her people hovering on the brink of extinction she doubted that she’d ever get the chance to have one. Instead, she focused on tidying up the washroom, tossing out her old clothes and the hair she’d cut off before finally daring a glance in the mirror. She looked larger than she really was in the flowing robes, and she was grateful to see that her hasty haircut hadn’t turned out too bad; a little sloppy, but thankfully her wavy hair was forgiving with such matters. 

She wasn’t sure whether or not she liked the way the clothes hid her scars. The ones on her knuckles were still visible, scrapes that had healed over after taking fists to someone, though those were hardly noticeable unless you looked. The one that cut through her eyebrow and dipped down against the curve of her cheekbone was impossible to miss, a memory of a glinting blade, a whispered threat, and a silent vow of vengeance that she’d never forgotten. The others were hidden though, the long gash on her forearm that had healed years ago, the jagged cut that tore across her shoulder and lanced it’s way across her upper back, the winding tear that curled around her calf like a snake. She’d always worn her scars with pride, proof that she’d survived the worst that others threw at her, and even now it felt wrong to hide them away. 

A soft knock from the main room quickly drew her attention away from her internal conflict, and she approached the door cautiously, deep-rooted survival skills urging her to be wary of anyone on the other side of the wall. She drew in a deep breath before pulling it open, peeking out from behind it only to find a pair of silver eyes staring back at her. They widened for a moment, lingering on her scar and then her hair for a moment as she pulled the door open slightly wider.

“Aang,” Nira greeted him simply, more withdrawn than their last encounter. Katara’s words still lingering in her mind, the way she made it sound like she belonged to him or something, and they only served as a reminder not to let her guard down so easily.

“Nira.” He greeted her, his smooth voice died in the air as silence lapsed on for a second before he continued, “May I?” He gestured towards the open door as he asked, clearly seeking an invitation to come in. For a split second she deliberated denying his request, he was a stranger, and she didn’t exactly have to do a lot of calculating to figure out that the chances of her beating him in a fight were slim to none. 

A moment later though, she acquiesced, stepping back and opening the door wider so he could enter. She hadn’t felt uneasy in his presence before, quite the contrary actually, he’d made her feel safe for the first time in a long time. Maybe Katara had meant to try and stir up distrust earlier, she may be a waterbender, but it was more than obvious that her loyalties lied with the Fire Nation. 

Aang looked around as he stepped inside, silently taking in his surroundings as Nira closed the door behind him, barely a moment passing before she was speaking up, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.” He answered immediately, looking over as he offered her a smile.

“Am I some peace offering?” Aang’s smile died as soon as she asked, his mouth pressing into a thin line as his eyebrows pursed together. When the silence continued to ebb on between them she added, “Did the Fire Nation save me from one set of captors just to hand me over to another?”

“Absolutely not,” Aang assured her, shaking his head as he stepped closer. “What gave you that idea?” 

Nira shrugged at the question, her eyes flicking down to the ground before she answered, “Just something Katara said.”

“What did Katara say?” Aang pressed, his tone darkening slightly as an almost protective note entered his voice.

Nira glanced up at the question, her eyes meeting his steely ones for a long moment before she muttered, “She may have implied that my freedom is more of an illusion than it’s ever been…” a short lapse of silence dragged on as Nira chewed on her lower lip and Aang’s expression darkened further. “Are you the Fire Nation’s prisoner?” She blurted out, blatant concern laced in her voice. If the Fire Nation had captured the Avatar and managed to keep him captive then her odds weren’t exactly looking up. 

Aang brightened up at the question, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as a soft chuckle escaped him and he shook his head. “No. I’m not.” He answered his smile fading as he sobered up. “And you’re not either.” He explained softly, taking another step forward before adding, “You’re no one’s prisoner.”

Nira eyed the dwindling distance between the two of them skeptically, waiting for that ominous feeling of being cornered to spring up even though it hadn’t yet. “Are you sure about that?” She pressed in a very matter-of-fact manner, staring him down as she waited for his bluff to crumble.

“I am.”

Part of her wanted to believe him, he certainly seemed sincere, but it wasn’t as though she hadn’t met good liars in the past. “Is Katara a Fire Nation prisoner?” She questioned, ever since she’d met the woman she’d started wondering how exactly she managed to wind up in the heart of the Fire Nation; and of course, her imagination had supplied plenty of theories, none of them particularly pleasant. 

“No,” Aang answered simply, some almost melancholic note entering his voice before he continued, “She’s the Firelord’s wife.”

“Because he forced her,” Nira stated blandly, distaste curdling deep in her gut at the thought.

“No. Trust me, it was entirely voluntary,” Aang quickly corrected her, an almost sad expression flitting across his face before he finished, “She loves him.” She could tell that there was something he wasn’t telling her, he seemed pretty torn up for someone who really believed that everything was mutually consensual. Her doubt must have been more apparent than she realized, because Aang’s voice broke the quiet only a moment later, “Nira, the Fire Nation isn’t our enemy anymore. Yes, they did horrible things a long time ago, but the people who are responsible for what happened are no longer in charge.” A moment of silence lapsed on before he added, “Everyone who’s here is here on their own free will.” 

“Everyone except for me,” Nira muttered under her breath, shooting a glare at the red carpet underfoot as though it had personally offended her. 

“If you really want to, you can leave. No one will stop you,” Aang explained gently, something almost resigned in his voice. Nira glanced up at the offer, her eyes meeting his as she finally realized that his sincerity was real. She glanced over at the door a half-second later, part of her wondering what she would do if she did leave. She’d spent her whole life hiding from people, sure her wilderness survival skills were great, but her people skills… not so much. “I do hope you’ll stick around though, at least until we can get things sorted out,” Aang added, drawing her gaze back over to him as she struggled to come up with an answer for a moment. She knew that she wouldn’t exactly fare the best if she did try to reintegrate into society, but the thought of staying in the Firelord’s palace left an ominous hollow feeling in her gut.

Before she could figure out what her answer was going to be, a harsh knock echoed through the room. She flinched at the sudden noise, startling for a moment and earning an almost worried look from Aang. She couldn’t really help the defensive shift in her posture, it was something that had been hard-wired into her since childhood, but for some reason it seemed to bother the airbender standing across from her. 

“That must be dinner,” Aang stated simply, stepping towards the door as he glanced at her over his shoulder, “You are hungry, right?”

Nira only nodded at the question even though _hungry_ was a bit of an understatement, starving was _far_ more appropriate. She watched as he pulled the door open, a single servant standing on the other side balancing a silver tray on one hand. His eyes widened when he saw Aang, his mouth falling open slightly as the Avatar took the tray from him with a simple, “Thank you.”

Before the other man could even find his words again, Aang nudged the door closed with his foot. Offering her a smile as he turned back around and started towards the small table tucked away in the corner of the room. She watched as he set the tray down, lifting the lid as a cloud of steam rose into the air. The smell followed shortly after, and it was enough to make her mouth water, she wasn’t sure how she managed to keep herself from pushing him out of the way and tearing into it like a ravenous batwolf. 

She watched as he set a few bowls on either side of the table before beckoning her over with a free hand. As she stepped closer she quickly recognized bowls of rice, rolls, and some kind of ramen that was still steaming; she swallowed at the sight of a real meal, a _hot_ meal. On second thought, maybe staying in the Firelord’s palace wouldn’t be the worst thing ever… she shook the thought away grumpily, silently reminding herself that one meal, a bath, and a night in a real bed didn’t make up for all of the years she spent hiding from these people. 

Aang stepped around her a moment later, resting a hand on her upper back as he passed behind her; she should have tensed at the contact, part of her, the part that still wasn’t quite sure whether or not he was a friend or an enemy, wanted her to tense, but her body wouldn’t obey. She didn’t move until he pulled away, sitting down in one of the two seats as she tried to ignore the way her heart was pounding against her ribcage.

“Are you a master?” Aang questioned curiously as he reached out and grabbed a set of chopsticks from the tray resting in the middle of the table. 

The question managed to spur her back into some form of basic functionality, and she shook her head as she sat down across from him. “No.” She answered as she took her own set of chopsticks, watching as he lifted his bowl of ramen and poured some of the broth from it into his rice. “Why would you think I am? I don’t have my tattoos.” She pressed as she mimicked him, doing the same to her own food.

“I thought that perhaps you didn’t have them because there was no one to do them,” Aang answered simply, stirring his food for a moment before popping a bite into his mouth. “You’re powerful. You have a lot of potential.” He remarked as she took her first bite of real food in weeks, it was better than she remembered and she hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. “Who taught you what you already know?” He asked curiously, and she managed to will herself to stop shoveling food into her mouth long enough to respond.

“My parents.” She did her best not to think about her parents - or lack thereof - as she answered, fully knowing that if she did it would result in another breakdown, and she was far too hungry to spend her time crying while dinner grew cold.

“They were both airbenders?” The question was subdued, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was purposely being careful with the subject.

Nira pushed the thought away as she finished off the last of her rice, nodding at his answer before managing a mumbled hum of approval at his question, “Mmmhmm.”

“Do you want to be a master?” Aang pressed a moment later, his eyes finding hers as she pushed the now empty bowl of rice to the side and pulled the steaming ramen closer. 

“Of course, but it’s not like I could find a master to teach me,” Nira replied, shrugging as she grabbed her roll before ripping a small chunk off and dipping it in the broth. Aang smirked at the statement, glancing down on the blue arrows on his hands quite pointedly before leveling his gaze to hers once more. Nira’s mouth fell open slightly as she decoded the unspoken message, part of her certain that she’d misinterpreted something along the way. “Are you saying…” she trailed off, shaking her head slightly as the shock of it numbed her slightly.

“I could teach you,” Aang offered, confirming that she had assumed correctly. She dropped the piece of the roll that she’d been dipping into the bowl with a soft splash as she considered the implications of the offer. She was by no means a beginner, but she wasn’t exactly a master either; she knew that her technique was sloppy every now and then, that her stances could use some repositioning, and of course there were the things that her parents never even got the chance to teach her. If she did become a master she’d be more than capable of protecting herself, there’d be no more running or hiding, it was something she’d never even considered. 

“But you’re the Avatar,” Nira stated plainly, gesturing to him with an open hand as he gave her a bemused smile and an expression that simply said: ‘so what?’ Nira shook her head slightly as she swallowed, part of her certain that this was some sort of joke. “Aren’t you a little over-qualified?”

Aang chuckled at the question, giving her a toothy grin that was oddly contagious. “Perhaps under normal circumstances.” His mood sobered up slightly a moment later, his grin turning into a barely-there smile as he quietly added, “But seeing as how I’m the only _known_ living master, I’m also the only option.” Any leftover traces of his cheerful mood were wiped away as he solemnly finished; “Training you would be imperative to the future of the airbenders.”

Nira pursed her lips into a thin line at the statement before muttering, “What future?”

Aang let out a long sigh as soon as her voice died away, his shoulders slumping as he stared at the table with a faraway gaze. “It may seem like that, yes.” He admitted, tapping his fingers against the table. His eyes flicked back up to meet her own a moment later as he began, “But you may find love someday, you might have children. If you do they’ll likely be airbenders.” Nira swallowed thickly at the mention of children, it wasn’t like she hadn’t thought of it once or twice before, she was well aware that there weren’t exactly a lot of airbenders left in the world; and that was the problem, why would she want to have children in this world? A world where any one of the other three nations could declare war any day and set out to attempt to destroy her people once again. It’d happened before, and it could happen again. “Any children I have will likely be airbenders,” Aang stated a moment later, seemingly unaware of the internal crisis she was suffering through. “There’s still hope.” He remarked softly, and it almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince her.

A long beat of silence passed between the two of them before Aang spoke up once more, “Will you train under me?” Nira could hardly help the smirk that pulled at the corner of her mouth and the chuckle that escaped her at the question, and she felt a bit bad about it, she could tell that it had been a genuine question. An almost nervous half-chuckle escaped Aang at her reaction, color tainting his cheeks as a shy smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that…” He offered lamely, swallowing thickly as he suddenly started avoiding her eyes.

Nira’s grin only grew at his weak defense, and she had to admit that she actually enjoyed this a bit, she hadn’t gotten the chance to really banter with anyone in over a month; and besides, the flustered, self-conscious Avatar certainly beat the broody, melancholic version. “Mmm. I’m sure.” She quipped playfully, watching as he rolled his eyes at her jab even as his cheeks grew redder. 

A long moment of silence dragged on between the two of them as Aang remained silent, and her smile and light-hearted mood faded slightly. One of the mantras that she’d learned from too young of an age echoing through her mind. _Everything comes with a price._ “What’s the catch?” She questioned a moment later, all of the playfulness fleeing from her voice as it took on a steely tone once again.

“The catch?” Aang echoed, his eyes shooting up to meet her own as confusion pulled at his features. 

“What do you want in return?”

Another beat of silence filled the room, before Aang simply answered, “Nothing.” Nira gave him a pointed look at the statement, and he leaned in slightly over the table before explaining, “You’re an airbender, we take care of our own. We always have and we always will. There’s never been a catch and there never will be.” Nira faltered slightly at his words, remembering how her parents told her something along the same lines time and time again when she was a child; stories of being welcomed anywhere other airbenders were with open arms, tales of an entire race of people who never even created their own money because they never saw a need for it. “We’re one people. And we’ve always conducted ourselves accordingly.”

“In that case…” Nira trailed off, suddenly feeling self-conscious about questioning the offer so much in the first place, “I’d be honored to train under you.” She avoided his eyes, stirring the bowl of ramen sitting before her with her chopsticks as she quietly added, “If you’ll still have me.” Part of her expected him to withdraw the offer. Spirits, _the Avatar_ had offered to teach her airbending and she reacted by questioning his motives. What had she even been thinking?

“Of course I will,” Aang replied almost immediately, and Nira blew out a long breath of relief at his answer, at the confirmation that she hadn’t thrown away her only chance at ever becoming a master. “Though this also raises the question, would you be willing to travel to one of the Air Temples?” 

Nira swallowed at the question, and for a moment she swore that her heart simply decided to stop beating. “An Air Temple?” She breathed, disbelief tainting the simple words. Her parents had never even seen an Air Temple, let alone visited one. The only stories she’d ever heard of them were from her grandparents back when she was a child, they were more of a legend than anything else.

“I’ve been restoring all four of them.” He stated simply, as though it wasn’t some of the biggest news she’d ever gotten in her life; right up there with ‘the war is over’, and ‘the Avatar is alive’. “They’re still a work in progress, but it would be easiest to train you at one,” Aang explained, his voice oddly neutral, as though he didn’t particularly care to sway her decision in one direction or another. 

“I’d love to go to an Air Temple,” Nira finally answered, the thought of finally seeing the towering majesty of the buildings that she’d only ever heard about filling her with nervous excitement.

Another smile pulled at his mouth at her answer, his voice breaking the quiet a second later, “It’s settled then.” He popped another bite of rice in his mouth, chewing and swallowing before he asked, “When would you feel comfortable leaving?”

“Honestly, the sooner the better.” She muttered quietly, quickly adding, “The Fire Nation gives me the creeps.”

“You’re safe here, Nira,” Aang stated, starting to reach across the table before seemingly thinking better of it as he pulled his hand back. “You have nothing to fear.” He added, and as much as Nira wanted to believe him, she refused to let go of her wariness towards the Fire Nation. “The new Firelord is a good man, he’s nothing like his ancestors.”

She didn’t respond to that, only offering Aang a simple nod as she focused on her meal. They both ate in silence after that, and Nira managed to polish off the last of her ramen before her curiosity finally got the better of her, “Can I ask you something else?” He looked up at her question, nodding as he popped a bite of his roll in his mouth. “Are these your clothes?” She questioned as she glanced down at the too-large robes clinging to her arms.

“I know they’re a little… large on you,” Aang offered lamely, and she took it as a confirmation that her suspicions had been correct. “But it was either this or Fire Nation attire. I guess I just thought that you’d be more comfortable in airbender clothes.” He continued, sounding almost abashed. “I could have something else arranged.”

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she shook her head, “No. This is fine.” Aang seemed a little shocked by her response, and the quick offering that followed it, “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” His reply was soft, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking.

“When was Firelord Ozai defeated?” Nira questioned curiously before silence could start to hang in the air again. 

“It was only six years ago,” Aang answered simply, some almost sadly reminiscent expression taking up place on his face.

“Are you the one who put an end to his reign?” It seemed like a silly question. Sure, it was obvious that Aang was a grown man, the towering height and the thin beard that lined his jaw were a testament to that. But he didn’t seem _that_ old. There was still a sort of childlike roundness to his face, he couldn’t be more than twenty, and even that felt like it was a bit of a stretch. He would’ve been a child back when the old Firelord had his title stripped away. 

“I was.” The response was muted, and there was that brooding weight again, like something was troubling him.

“That must have been a horrible burden,” Nira muttered quietly, drawing Aang’s silver gaze back up to meet her own. 

“It was.” He agreed softly, before adding, “He’s still alive, you know.”

“What?” The word echoed against the walls, louder than she meant for it to, as a sudden rush of icy fear trickled through her veins. 

“I didn’t kill him,” Aang said, and her anxiety suddenly rose to heights that she’d never thought possible. The old Firelord wasn’t dead, and she was sitting here in his palace. “I just took away his bending.” He explained, and suddenly anxiety morphed into caution.

“You can do that?” The surprise in her voice was practically palatable, as her question only received a nod of agreement. “How many times have you done that?” Her tone quickly turned wary, it wasn’t that she didn’t trust Aang, he’d given her no reason not to; but the thought of someone being capable of taking away the only thing that was ever truly hers was almost as terrifying as the thought of sitting in a vengeful Firelord’s palace. 

“Just the one.” He replied, and something in her calmed slightly at the admission even though the logical part of her knew that she was never at any risk. What would Aang possibly have to gain by taking away her airbending? Nothing. “Are you still hungry?” His next question caught her by surprise, his eyes lingering on the bowls that she’d managed to empty in no time. It took her a moment to find her voice again, and before she managed to get a word out her stomach answered for her, rumbling loudly and drawing a peal of laughter from the airbender sitting across from her. “Here.” He offered as he pushed his un-touched bowl of ramen across the table.

“This is your food,” Nira protested lamely, shaking her head as she started to push it back across the table. 

“You need it more than I do,” Aang replied, pushing it back. Nira glowered at the response, earning a soft half-chuckle before he added, “Besides, I can just grab something from the kitchen later tonight.” 

For a moment she considered protesting once more, but he seemed quite set on the notion, and she did want the food. She let out a sigh before she finally relented, picking her chopsticks back up and gathering a few thick noodles. “So…” Nira trailed off, struggling to think of something to say, feeling almost obligated to fill the quiet now that Aang didn’t have any food to preoccupy himself with. “When were you planning on leaving?”

“Tomorrow evening.” He answered immediately, quickly explaining, “I was called here out of nowhere, and I do have a few things that I have to attend to back at the temple.” Nira nodded as she chewed, taking a silent note of the fact that it sounded as though he’d been at the temple before he’d come here. “Everyone there will be overjoyed to meet you.”

Nira paused at the words, her eyes flicking up to meet his as she asked, “There are other people living there?”

“Of course,” Aang responded, “Did you think it was just going to be the two of us?” He chuckled as soon as the question died in the air, shaking his head at the notion. Nira blushed at the question, suddenly feeling like an idiot, and she silently reminded herself that she should have asked if there would be other people there _before_ she agreed to go. The old lesson ‘don’t talk to strangers’ probably extended to ‘don’t run off to air temples all alone with men you just met a few hours ago’. “They aren't airbenders like we are, but they're people who have dedicated their lives to learning our culture and living in our ways,” Aang added, and her eyebrows drew together at the statement.

“Why would they do that?” She questioned, trying to understand what would drive a person to give up their culture and choose someone else's. 

“They all have their reasons.” He answered, quickly explaining, “Some of them are historians, some are scholars, some just enjoy the simplicity of our lifestyle.” 

Nira nodded softly at the response, taking it in for a moment. “What if I don’t… fit, with everyone?” The uncertainty in her voice tainted the air. She’d never had a lot of contact with people, she could count on one hand the number of times she’d met people who weren’t her parents, before the slavers had taken her, that was. 

“You’re an airbender. They’re going to love you just because you exist,” Aang reassured her plainly, and part of her wondered if it was really going to be that easy. “Besides, not to brag, but I’m kinda a big deal there.” He added, a sort of playful cockiness lighting up his face, “You’re already in with the cool guy.” He nudged her foot with his own as he spoke, and she couldn’t help but chuckle at his words, rolling her eyes at him as a smile pulled at her lips. His playfulness died away a moment later, as he spoke, “Really though, you’ll be fine.” Another short lapse of silence filled the air before he added, “If anything they’ll be scared that _you_ don’t like _them_.”

“You really think so?” Nira asked, part of her hoping that he was right. That she wouldn’t have to try that hard to make any friends, or at least that it wouldn’t be easy to make enemies. 

“I know so.” He replied firmly, no traces of doubt in his voice. She nodded at his response, taking another bite as silence lapsed on between them. By the time Aang finally spoke up again, she’d managed to finish her second bowl of ramen. “About tomorrow, would you like to be left to your own devices, or would you like some company?” She mulled over the question for a moment, she had to admit though, after being locked away from all human contact for a week, the thought of being left alone again didn’t particularly sound like her idea of a good time. “I won’t be available, unfortunately; Avatar duties to attend to. But Katara might be free,” Aang added a moment later, and suddenly the premise of being alone seemed more appealing. Sure, Katara seemed nice enough, but ever since their last conversation she felt more wary of the woman, part of her felt like she had ulterior motives. 

At the same time though, she’d already learned so much more about the state of the world in just a few hours. And she really wanted to actually get a chance to see what the outside world looked like now, six years after the war ended. Even though part of her screamed that hiding in this room all day would be the safest, she didn’t want to, she was tired of hiding. “I was actually wondering… would it be alright if I saw the city?” Nira questioned curiously, part of her hoping that she might actually be able to explore a bit, while the part of her that wanted to just stay inside in the first place silently hoped that Aang would shoot down the idea. 

“Of course. Though if you’ll accept my thoughts…” He trailed off, waiting for her to nod for him to continue before he went on, “It might be best for you to have an escort. The city is huge, it’s easy to get lost.” Part of her hated the thought of being monitored, having a babysitter; but at the same time it was oddly reassuring, the knowledge that if she did run into trouble or if something went wrong there would be someone around to help. “I still get lost sometimes,” Aang chuckled, running a hand across the back of his neck at the admission. “I actually know someone who would be perfect for the job, if you’d like me to arrange something?” 

Nira couldn’t help but wonder if that someone was going to be Katara, but she had a feeling that Aang would have just said so if it was. She mulled over the thought of having someone with her for a moment, before she finally answered, “I’d actually like that a lot.” Having someone around who knew the city could be helpful, especially when it came to digging for information. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He replied, offering her a smile before gathering the empty bowls from the table and stacking them on the tray he’d brought in earlier. As soon as she realized what he was doing she started helping, her hand accidentally brushing against his when she stacked her bowls on top of his. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t pull away immediately, she should have, but instead she let the simple, innocent contact linger. Aang pulled away a moment later, offering her an apologetic smile as he stood up. “I should be going. I’m sure you’re ready for a good nights sleep in a real bed, and… duty calls.” 

He picked up the tray with ease, balancing it on one hand as he made his way towards her door, and she followed behind him without even really thinking about it. She worried her hands together as she tried to figure out what to say, she had to admit that she was a little… disheartened that he was leaving so soon. He was the first person she’d met since her parents had died who actually made her feel safe, the first person since them who seemed to legitimately care. At the same time though, she knew she was being irrational, she’d just met him for spirit’s sake. He was the Avatar, she was lucky that he even had enough time to offer to train her, and he definitely didn't want to wait around all night and listen to her unload the baggage of her past on him. 

It wasn’t until he pulled the door open and started to step out that she finally spoke up, “Aang…” She trailed off as soon as his eyes flicked up to meet hers, suddenly at a loss for words. She didn’t even know where to begin, it wasn’t as though a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice, yet at the same time some flowy little speech felt… wrong. “Have a good night.” She offered a moment later, falling short of any better offer of thanks or goodbye.

He smiled at the statement, stepping out into the hallway as he spoke up, “You too, Nira.” He turned away a moment later, making his way down the hallway with long strides. He managed one last glance at her over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.


	3. At Least Give Her A Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really short compared to the last two ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ and it's really only here to give us some more insight into how Aang is coping and what his thoughts on the whole situation are. 
> 
> Next chapter will also be pretty short, and then it will be followed by a massive chapter with some action!

“Are you certain that she's an airbender?” The soft, curious question lingered in the air for a second. Aang gave the slightly shorter man walking beside him a pointed look at the inquiry. As if he would mistake anyone for an airbender. It’s not like they were particularly hard to identify. “Of course, sorry.” He offered almost sheepishly, his eyes finding the carpet as heavy silence filled the hallway.

“It's fine, Ruik,” Aang offered a half-second later; part of him wondering if the older man was questioning him because of his youth, or if it was simply because he too could hardly believe that there was actually another airbender in the world. “Just don't do smothering her because of her status. Air is the element of freedom, we don't enjoy feeling trapped.” 

“Of course, Avatar Aang.” He offered immediately, nodding at the words as Aang glanced over at the air acolyte. 

The next request Aang made was slightly sterner, the tone of his voice implicitly stating that he didn’t want to be disobeyed, “And Ruik, don't insinuate anything, please.” 

“Insinuate anything?” Ruik pressed, clearly not getting the gist of what Aang was trying to impart. 

Aang let out a soft sigh as the question died in the air, so much for subtlety. “I had to have a talk with Katara about making it seem like entering into a relationship with me would be expected just because of our airbending statuses.” He explained a moment later, drawing in a deep breath before finishing, “Don't even bring it up with her.” He understood the reasoning behind what Katara had done, or at least he was trying to be understanding, but spirits, why couldn’t everyone just leave the girl alone? It was like everyone could tell that she was vulnerable right now and they were all trying to exploit her for their own personal gain.

“So you two aren't going to attempt to fix the population dilemma?” The question was a little shocked, and it only served to annoy Aang. Everyone had been constantly pointing out the dismal airbender population ever since he met her, as if it was their _duty_ to have kids. He was well aware that the future of his people was important, but could he rebuild the Air Nomads if doing so went directly against their beliefs? Against his beliefs? His old teachers, Monk Gyatso, they would all disapprove of any attempt to coerce anyone into sleeping with him for the sake of the future of the Air Nomads. None of them would want that. _He_ didn't want that.

“I…” Aang trailed off with a lofty sigh, shaking his head as he slowed to a stop. Sure, if he did have kids with Nira it would be guaranteed that they would be airbenders, and the uncertainty that his children _might_ not be airbenders had been one of the _many_ variables that kept him from taking on a harem like the earth kingdom had suggested _several_ times now. In all honesty, he knew that Nira could be the solution to it all; he could have a real partner, a wife, a _family_. On the other hand though, he seemed to be the only one who understood that she was a person, that she deserved to make her own decisions in life, that she should know she wasn't expected to live a life that so many others would push her towards. She deserved to carve her own path, free from the coercion of others and without any nagging feelings of some unfulfilled duty. 

“This isn't the right time for anything like that.” He stated simply, still torn between serving his nation and therefore ensuring that it had a future, and knowing that he couldn’t strip away another person's freedom or personal choice, regardless of the others that would pressure him to do so without a second thought. “The only thing I'm concerned with at the moment is making sure that she becomes a master.”

“Wise,” Ruik replied simply, shooting Aang a pointed glance before he playfully added, “Wait now, build up her trust and earn her favor, and then strike later.”

At first, Aang wasn’t entirely sure why the good-natured quip irked him, and it took a moment for him to realize that the deep-seated, unsettled feeling lingering in his gut was entirely due to Ruik’s choice of words. He made it sound like Nira was some sort of helpless creature, like she was his prey, like it was his intention to get close to her in an attempt to exploit her. “I'm not planning on _striking_ at all,” Aang grit out, his voice darkening almost dangerously. He forced himself to draw in a deep, calming breath before he explained, “I don't know her, she doesn't know me, and I'm not going to force either of us to enter into something that neither of us truly wants.” 

He watched Ruik’s mouth fall open as the other man tried to come up with an apology, or perhaps even some sort of counter-argument to his last statement. Aang started forward before Ruik managed to get a word out, stepping past the man as he continued down the hallway. “ _If_ something happens between us later on down the line, if there is _something_ there, then I won't push it away. But I'm not going to try to force anything.” He continued as Ruik caught up to him, matching his strides. This whole time he’d been trying to put himself in Nira’s shoes, to figure out how he’d feel if he was the one who was lost, and naive, and at the mercy of another. He knew how he’d want to be treated if their roles were reversed, and it certainly wasn’t to be treated like an object, like a means to an end. “If it's not natural then I really don't want anything to do with it.” 

“But the population dilemm-”

“Is a problem bigger than either of us,” Aang cut him off sternly, shooting Ruik a look that he hoped would convey just how annoyed he was. “We wouldn't be able to rectify it on our own even _if_ she spent the rest of her life with child, and really, she doesn't strike me as the type who's alright with having twenty children.”

“I mean… twenty children wouldn't be an immediate fix, but it would certainly be a strong start to a long lineage.” Ruik muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Aang to hear.

“Ruik. That's enough,” Aang ordered sternly, coming to an abrupt stop that made the shorter man accidentally bumped into him, jostling him. “I'm not going to entertain this debate any further, and I've made it explicitly clear that I don't want you bringing it up with her.” He added, watching as the other man immediately deflated, his shoulders falling as his eyes suddenly couldn’t be pried away from the red carpet underfoot. “It's not the path that I want either of us to take. Like I said before, the only thing I'm concerned with is making sure she becomes a master.” 

A moment of silence passed before Ruik nodded, his voice filling the air a second later, “Very well, Avatar Aang.” His eyes flicked back up as he finally resigned himself to respect the other man's wishes, “You have my discretion.”

“Thank you,” Aang sighed, continuing down the hallway towards the door numbered thirty-two, choosing to focus on the task at hand rather than the annoying way that everyone kept trying to undermine his wishes lately. He stopped at the plain red door only distinguishable by the golden numbers labeling it, and gently rapped his knuckles against the wood. Several lingering seconds passed in silence, and when Ruik gave him a curious glance he lifted his hand to knock once more, only to have the door swing open a half-second later. 

Nira’s bleary eyes met his for a long moment before recognition finally sparked in them. “Aang?” Her voice was still thick with sleep as she spoke, and a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he allowed his eyes to linger on her mussed up hair, the wrinkles in her robes, the indent from a folded blanket pressed into the side of her face. 

“Nira.” He greeted her simply, before playfully adding, “Did I wake you?”

“Umm…” Nira trailed off, rubbing a hand over her face before staring at him blankly, “What?” Aang chuckled at the question, entirely smitten with this dopey, half-asleep version of the woman he’d spoken with last night. Nira’s gaze quickly swept to the side, her eyes lingering on Ruik before they narrowed suspiciously. “Who're you?”

“My name is Ruik. I'm the Air Nomad ambassador to the Fire Nation.” He answered before bowing, and even when he righted himself once again Nira kept her narrowed gaze locked on him.

When silence lapsed on for a few uncomfortable seconds Aang finally decided to break it, “He's the escort we discussed yesterday.” Nira pried her gaze away from Ruik at his words, her eyes meeting his once again even though her bleary gaze showed no sign of recognition. “At dinner,” Aang pressed, waiting a moment for any kind of reaction from the short woman and receiving none. “Nira, are you feeling alright?” Aang questioned, a hint of concern leaking into his voice as he reached a hand out to feel her forehead for a fever. Before he could touch her, her hand whipped out lightning fast, her hand gripping his wrist roughly as she tore his arm away from her and twisted it just enough to make him wince.

It took a moment for her own expression to mirror his own shocked one, her eyes widening as she released his hand and stepped back slightly, her eyes drifting down to the ground as she quickly offered, “Sorry.” Aang rubbed his wrist gently as her eyes flicked up to meet his own, and for a moment he couldn’t tell if he was more surprised by her speed or by her strength, both of which he had clearly underestimated. “I'm sorry,” Nira offered once more, drawing in a breath before sheepishly adding, “I'm still kinda asleep.” 

“It's alright,” Aang stated as he let go of his wrist, his hands drifting back down to his sides as he glanced over at Ruik. He wasn’t sure how much time he had left before he’d be pulled away for the rest of the day, and he knew Ruik well enough to know that he likely wouldn’t fare well against Nira, particularly in the state she was currently in. “Should we come back later?” He questioned, quickly deciding that giving Nira a chance to wake up before leaving her alone with the firebending air acolyte would probably be for the best.

“Could you?” Nira answered with a question of her own, running a hand through her messy hair before she continued, “I just… need an hour.” 

“Of course,” Aang replied, earning only a simple nod from the woman she yawned, closing the door and leaving him standing in the hallway with Ruik. He could tell by the expression on the other man's face that he certainly hadn’t been expecting _that_ , but before Ruik could find whatever words he was searching for, a deep, crisp, almost exasperated voice echoed down the hallway.

“There you are, I've been looking all over for you.” Aang quickly glanced past Ruik, his eyes settling on Zuko as the Firelord beckoned him closer with a hand. “Come on, I need your help.” 

Aang glanced back at Ruik, resting a hand on the shorter man's shoulder before offering him a lame excuse for a smile and shrugging as he simply stated, “Just come back for her later.” He stepped away as soon as Ruik nodded his agreement, making his way towards Zuko with long strides as he took in the almost nervous expression that pulled at his friends face; the way the corners of his mouth turned down into the beginning of a frown, the deep furrow of his brows, the obvious concern reflected in his eyes. 

He didn’t even get a chance to ask what was wrong before Zuko began explaining, his voice low as he started down a different hallway. “We just found out about another harmony restoration project rally. I'm hoping you might be able to quell the protesters.”

“The harmony restoration project was scrapped years ago. Do you really think the protest will be that bad?” Aang questioned curiously. The harmony restoration project had only lasted a little more than a year right after Ozai had been locked away and Zuko had taken the throne. It had almost started another war, and Aang had almost been forced to take his friends life, but finally the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation had managed to come to an agreement regarding what to do about the oldest Fire Nation colonies. Disaster had been averted. So why was Zuko still so worried?

“The protests never stopped being bad here,” Zuko answered, his voice strained and tired. “They've never gotten bad enough to warrant anything more than minor law enforcement involvement, but I’m worried that they're only going to start ramping up now.” 

“Why?” Aang pressed as he tried to come to the answer on his own. It wasn’t like the Fire Nation citizens that elected to stay in the Earth Nation weren’t allowed back, they simply choose to make the Earth Nation their home.

“Well, the reason they never stopped was because some citizens hate the fact that Katara and I are married. They think it's unnatural to mix fire and water. They think our union is a weakness.” Ah. Yeah. That would do it. He knew that their marriage hadn’t been accepted by all. Even Aang had his reservations, though those hadn’t been because of the differences between Zuko and Katara, rather it had been because he wanted Katara for himself. “And with the unified nations summer solstice conference coming up in two months…” Zuko trailed off with a sigh as he lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. A moment of silence passed as the firebender came to a stop, fixing Aang with his golden gaze. “I told you that's when we were planning on announcing Katara's pregnancy. And these protesters are going to be enraged.” Zuko shook his head and rolled his eyes before adding, “I can already hear it now, _the heir to the Fire Nation throne can't be some half-breed_!” 

“And you think I can sway them?” Aang questioned curiously. Sure he was the Avatar, but that didn’t mean that people really listened to him. There were certain circles where he was taken seriously; political conferences, alliances, treaties. Citizens though… with citizens he was either hated, adored, or treated like he didn’t exist; and he had a feeling that supporters of the harmony restoration project - a project that he helped scrap - would probably fall into the category of people who hated him.

“You're great with people!” Zuko offered, a grin lighting up his face as he started back down the hallway. “You were the one who managed to get king Kuei to remove his support from the movement.” 

“Actually, that was Katara's political victory, not mine,” Aang corrected, watching Zuko’s smile fade as surprise took up residence in the man's eyes.“These people don't want to listen to me, Zuko. They're worried about losing their culture. And as their Firelord, you're the baron of that culture.” Aang considered their options for a moment, but he knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t have much of a chance to plead Zuko’s case. These people likely wouldn’t respect him enough to let him speak, but Zuko, Zuko was their leader. “I think _you_ should speak with them.”

“You're joking… right?” Zuko deadpanned, his shoulders slumping as he gave Aang a look that screamed, _what do you expect me to do that you can’t_?

“I’ll go with you,” Aang offered immediately, quickly adding, “If things get out of hand I can stop anything from happening.” Zuko pursed his lips at the offer, and Aang could tell that he was about to argue the suggestion. “ _You're_ the leader here. You actually have more sway than I do.” He offered simply, watching as Zuko seemed to mull over the statement. 

“I'm not good with citizens.” He admitted after a long moment of silence, his voice resigned. “I'm good with politics, debates, generals and ambassadors. But I'm not _soft enough_ for public outreach.” Aang doubted the truth in the words. Zuko wasn’t bad with people. Regardless of that though, his self-doubt would hold him back here. “Katara's the one who handles civilian matters. She's great with people.”

“Then bring her,” Aang stated simply, watching as Zuko whipped around to stare at him with wide eyes. 

“Are you crazy?” He questioned, his voice ringing against the surrounding walls as he practically yelled. “They hate her!”

“I just think going together might show strength. Unity,” Aang explained, drawing in a deep breath before he added, “You want these people to see Katara as their rightful leader, and I don't think they ever will if they can't see your love for themselves.” Sure, he knew that he was making it seem simpler than it was. This was prejudice, fear over breaking from tradition, and it wouldn’t be quelled by something as simple as a visit from the Firelord and his wife. But maybe if they just got the chance to meet Katara, to see that she didn’t want to infiltrate the Fire Nation and bring it crumbling down, to learn that she just wanted to be able to live her life in peace, maybe they would consider letting go of their senseless grudges.

“She's pregnant, Aang. She could get hurt,” Zuko grit out darkly, his annoyance a thin veil to hide his worry. 

“She's a waterbending master, you're a firebending master, I'm the Avatar,” Aang chuckled, shaking his head as he gave Zuko a pointed look. He knew for a fact that the Firelord would never talk like that in front of his wife. Katara would never let him hear the end of it if he insinuated that she wasn’t capable of handling herself in a fight. “If things start to go wrong, we'll be able to get her out of there.” He added, hoping to dispel some of his friends worry. The three of them had gone up against far steeper odds than a few frustrated Fire Nation citizens. 

Zuko let out a long huff of breath at his words, and although Aang knew that he was just trying to protect Katara as best as he could, he also knew that if she was given the option, she wouldn’t choose to stay hidden away in the palace. If Katara was anything, she was a fighter. “At least give her a choice,” Aang pressed, meeting Zuko’s eyes for a long moment before the firebender muttered out a simple: _fine_.


	4. At Least For You The Pain Ended

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, and a few more snippets of Nira's backstory.
> 
> Next chapter is going to be huge.

When Nira wrenched open the door to her room she’d expected to come face to face with Aang for the second time that day, so when only one figure stood in the hallway - a figure who was too short, a figure who had too much facial hair, a figure who lacked a very prominent set of tattoos - it was needless to say that she was a little surprised. She recognized the man, she’d met him this morning, but she had a hard time recalling his name. Everything was blurry right after she’d woken up, like she was stuck in some sort of limbo between the real world and the dream world. “Nira.” He greeted her simply, offering her a warm smile before dipping down into a deep bow. 

“Where's Aang?” The question tumbled from her lips without a thought, the first thing that came to mind at the absence of his presence. 

“Firelord Zuko needed his assistance with something.” The stranger answered simply, not giving her enough time to ask anything else before adding, “However, I've been well informed of your situation and I'm here to help you for the rest of the day.” 

Nira stalled as he finished, floundering for the right words to say, a dilemma that never presented itself when she carried out a conversation with Aang. Thick silence lapsed on, and it started to hang in the air like a weight until finally, she managed to break it, “It's Ruik, right?”

“It is.” He confirmed with a smile and a nod, the lines of his face pulling tight. 

“Why are you wearing airbender robes?” Nira asked a moment later, her eyes lingering on the bright colors of her people. Aang had unofficially told her that they were the last two left. Unless maybe she’d just misinterpreted his words somehow? 

“As I said this morning, I'm the Air Nomad ambassador here,” Ruik answered simply. Blunt and to the point, even if the words really meant nothing to her.

“But you're _not_ a bender.” She stated, seeking confirmation.

“I'm actually a firebender,” Ruik answered immediately, and she wondered if he felt the sudden shift of tension in the air the same way she did. The static that charged the air, the sudden tense of muscles bracing for defense, the thrum of fear in her veins that she never really allowed others to see. “And an air acolyte.” He finished as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

“What's an air acolyte?” Nira breathed, her eyes narrowing as she looked the man over once again; this time calculating his weak points, potential strengths, her chances of beating him in combat if it would come to that - and in her experience, it always came to that when firebenders were involved.

“Air acolytes are a group of people who've dedicated their lives to learning airbender culture and living according to those customs and values.”

Nira frowned slightly at the answer, her brows furrowing as she asked, “Why would you spend your life doing that?”

Ruik seemed slightly taken aback by the question, and he seemed to consider his words for a moment before he spoke up, his shoulders slumping slightly as his voice filled the air. “I was a soldier in the Fire Nation Navy when I was younger. I served Firelord Ozai. He was a horrible ruler.” Each word was slow, dark, a little guilty sounding. But regardless of the regret he seemed to feel, his answer only served to heighten her distrust. “And then Avatar Aang saved us all, and I felt… well, indebted to him. I felt guilty for being a part of the group that destroyed his people. I wanted to reconcile my own wrongs, as well as the wrongs of my forefathers. And I think I've been doing a pretty decent job.” His voice lightened towards the end of his explanation, giving her a small smile that she could only call hopeful. 

She tried not to scoff at his answer, at the simple fact that he thought he could fix the wrongs of the past just by dedicating his life to a dying culture. What was even the point? Spirits, she _was_ an airbender and sometimes even she wondered if it was worth it; if she should just give up on her bending, pretend it didn’t exist and make a life for herself posing as a non-bender. Or at least she used to wonder that a few mere days ago, before she met another airbender, before she found a master who was willing to train her, before she had even some semblance of purpose in her life. 

“I think I'll be the judge of that,” Nira muttered under her breath, still struggling to hold back the mixture of anger and fear that the firebender stirred up in her. “They were _my_ people after all.” She grit out as she stepped forward, purposely bumping into the taller man and pushing him off balance as she pulled the door shut behind her. She started down the hallway without giving him the chance to regain his footing, not bothering with a meaningless apology that she felt he didn’t deserve anyway. 

Her determined strides slowed to a stop as she came to the end of the hallway, glancing to her left and right and she tried to figure out which way would lead away from the unnervingly identical rows of doors. When Ruik’s footsteps grew closer, she started towards the left for no other reason than to keep some distance between the two of them, leaving him to follow after her, if he chose to do so.

She didn’t make it more than half a dozen paces before his deep, rough voice filled the air, “Where are you going?”

Nira shrugged at the question, feigning nonchalance, pretending as though being lost in a massive Fire Nation palace didn’t make her flinch at the slightest noise or flicker of candlelight. “I have no clue. I'm just going.”

Ruik let out a hefty sigh at her answer, and a half-second later a large hand was wrapping itself around her forearm. It was pure instinct that fueled her actions to whirl around at the unwanted contact, and before she even thought through what she was doing she was wrenching her arm from the loose grip and roughly slapping it away. 

The look that Aang had given her when she wrenched his hand away earlier had been surprised, maybe a little worried; but Ruik looked utterly abandoned and betrayed. If she didn’t know any better she’d think that he just witnessed a person drowning a helpless owlkitten. She let her arm drift back down to her side as she held his sullen glare. “I’m sorry.” She offered, even though she didn’t _really_ mean the words. “I'd prefer it if you could keep your hands to yourself.” She added, her voice dark. The words were more of a threat than a request, but if he noticed that the tone of her voice was a warning, he didn’t let it show.

“Of course,” Ruik offered a moment later, trying to pretend at being apologetic and coming up short. She could tell he wasn’t really sorry, he was just saying what she wanted to hear while trying to piece his fragile sense of masculinity back together. Spirits forbid a woman know how to handle herself. “The palace exit is this way.” He stated blandly as he gestured in the opposite direction, his voice lacking the zeal it held only a few minutes prior. She refused to play into his pity party as she stepped past him, telling herself that if he wanted to act like a scolded child then so be it. 

When the hallway branched off in three different directions she came to another lingering pause, looking down each new corridor before deciding on the one that wasn’t lined with perfect rows of identical doors. As she continued through the palace she counted five different turns, and she assumed that her instincts were leading her in the right direction, considering the way that Ruik hadn’t chimed in yet again to tell her that she was going the wrong way. In fact, he’d been thankfully silent ever since she hit him, _if_ you could even call the minor slap a hit. 

Ruik didn’t speak up again until they descended a flight of stairs, stepping into the main foyer of the palace that was brimming with guards, politicians, and even a few humble citizens lining up to plead their cases. “Do you dislike me?” The question was blunt, and Nira didn’t even bother to turn and face him before she answered.

“I wouldn't take it personally, I don't like anything that has to do with the Fire Nation.” 

“I've done nothing wrong though,” Ruik defended, his formerly dry voice suddenly welling up with emotion as he lengthened his strides so he could step in front of her, cutting her off and forcing her to come to a stop. “ _I’ve_ never taken an airbenders life. _I_ didn’t raid your temples.” Nira glared up at the man as she ground her teeth together, silently fuming at the almost scolding tone of his voice. “Are you going to blame me for crimes I didn't commit?”

“You served Firelord Ozai!” Nira spat, the simmering annoyance bubbling under her skin quickly raging into something far more volatile. Part of her knew that he was right, the same part of her that only blamed him because he was descended from the people who had killed airbenders and raided air temples. It wasn’t a lack of logic that made her angry, it was the way he was speaking to her, like she was some sort of petulant child that had no right to be angry - when in reality she hadn’t been a child for years now, not mentally at least; and when in reality, there was no more reasonable excuse to be angry with someone than the genocide of your own people. 

“I had no choice! I was drafted into the military before I even completed school!” Ruik bit back, his voice rising to match hers as they started draw a bit of attention. A few civilians and guards looked over at the unusual sight of a pair of Air Nomad people fighting. “Your people weren't the only victims of the war.” He continued, his voice leveling out as he managed to contain his emotions, “We were _all_ victims.”

“No,” Nira growled, her voice low and guttural, more animal than human. She stepped closer to the taller man, forcing her way into his personal space before jabbing his chest with a rough finger. “You're _not_ allowed to do this to me.” She added darkly as the air in the room began to stir, a soft breeze that probably seemed like a draft to anyone who didn’t know what she was.

“Do what?” Ruik questioned, somehow managing to sound entirely bewildered.

“To try and belittle everything that I've had to struggle through my whole life!” Nira shouted in response, the harsh words echoed in the massive entry and drew the attention of anyone who had managed to ignore the spat thus far. “Spirits! At least you got to go to school! My parents taught me how to read and write, but only on the nights that we weren't being tracked by the Fire Nation or bounty hunters! I never got a bed, or a roof, or even regular meals let alone warm ones!” She continued loudly, no longer bothering to attempt to hold back the swirling mix of toxic emotions surging through her.

Nira barely even noticed the way the room darkened, the storm clouds rolling in over the sky and stealing the warmth of the sun; it was only when a soft rumble of thunder managed to reverberate through the palace walls that she finally took notice, not that it was going to stop her now that she’d only just begun. “My whole life has been a never-ending nightmare! And I did not survive being attacked, and betrayed, and traded hands like some sort of _possession_ , just so I could stand here and listen to you tell me that I have no right to be angry because _we all suffered_!” She flung one of her wildly gesturing arms down to her side as she shouted, accidentally sending a rack of pamphlets clattering to the ground when she sent a gust of wind that way.

She barely even took notice of the hushed, surprised murmurs that rippled through the crowd of onlookers at her accidental display of bending. Too caught up in the middle of her rant to care whether or not they knew what she was, “I am _still_ suffering,” Nira growled, and the moment she finished another clap of thunder sounded, shaking the floor underfoot a second before the sound of rain pounding against the rooftop permeated into the room. Ruik flinched at the noise, Nira didn’t. She feared humans far more than she feared nature; at least nature was impartial when it came to taking lives. “At least for you the pain ended.” She added darkly as a cold gust of air blew into the room when a few citizens scurried inside, seeking shelter from the unexpected storm.

A long moment of silence lapsed on as Ruik’s gaze darted between her, the darkened windows, and the drenched people who were huddled near the entrance. It wasn’t until Nira let out a huff of breath, shaking her head as she turned away from him before he finally managed to find his voice. “I didn't mean for it to come across like that.” She stopped the second his voice died, turning back around to face him once more as he added, “I wasn't trying to downplay the hardships you've had to live through.” She almost scoffed at the statement, but she didn't get the chance to before he quickly finished, “I just wanted to point out that the war isn't something that divides us, it's something that unites us.” 

“How can you say that it doesn't divide us?” Nira questioned, the anger in her voice dissipating and leaving only weariness in its wake. “That's all _any_ war is ever good for.” She continued, her voice darkening as she turned away from him again, stepping towards the massive double doors to the palace as she added, “Division.”

Nira only made it a few feet towards the door before Ruik cut in front of her, forcing her to a stop. She ground her teeth together as she held back the urge to push him out of her way. Did Aang purposely set her up with the most annoying person he knew to act as an escort? If it was her patience he was trying to test, she knew that he'd soon learn just how short it was. 

“You can't go out there,” Ruik stated simply as he gestured towards the front of the palace, and the storm that raged just outside of the confines of the walls. Nira pursed her lips at his words, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at him. As if he had any right to tell her where she could or couldn't go. Was he an escort, or a prison guard? 

Nira gave Ruik a pointed look before stepping around him, shooting him a glare as she passed him. She barely made it more than a foot before he scrambled in front of her once more, cutting her off for the third time since they'd met. “Do you not see that?” He questioned, pointing towards the pounding rain as he raised his voice slightly. For a moment, she wondered if he was angry or desperate. It was hard to tell the difference between the two sometimes. 

Nira let her gaze follow the line of his arm, staring out at the pounding sheet of rain as another bolt of lightning shot down in the middle of the courtyard, a harsh crack of thunder following immediately afterward. “I see it,” Nira answered simply, her gaze slowly drifting away from the storm, back to meet his. “I just don't fear it.” she finished as she stared into his almost amber colored eyes. 

When she stepped past him a second time, he didn't cut her off. The only thing he did to attempt to deter her from the path she'd already chosen was utter a simple, almost dejected, “Avatar Aang tasked me with keeping you safe.”

Nira didn't stop or look over her shoulder at the admission. She only paused for a second when she rested a hand on the cold metal door handle. “I'm more than capable of keeping myself safe.” She offered coldly before pushing the door open. 

The moment the rain and wind pounded against her she drew in a deep breath, tilting her head up to the sky as she stepped out into the elements. She'd always felt a pull towards the rain, to the point where her parents always used to joke that she should have been born a waterbender, but Nira knew better than that; it wasn't the water she loved, it was the storm. The volatility, the chaos, the tingle that tinged the air and made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end.

Her hair and robes quickly wound up plastered to her skin as the cold began to seep into her bones. She started forward after a long moment of basking in the storm, only making it a few feet before another bolt of lightning struck down a block away. The clap of thunder that followed was nearly deafening, rattling her all the way down to the bone. Most people scurried towards the nearest buildings, eagerly seeking shelter from the storm, but she pressed on despite the wind, and the rain, and the lightning. They might feel the urge to hide from the devastating beauty of nature, but she'd never felt more alive.


	5. Ready For A Fresh Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a long chapter to make up for the last two short ones. There's a lot of Zutara, and we're finally getting back to Aang and Nira. (And the next chapter will be entirely Aang x Nira)
> 
> If you've made it this far, all I can say is... I'm sorry. lol
> 
> Seriously though, this is the point where the story will finally start to pick up and take off.

The storm had rolled in ridiculously fast. One moment blue skies had stretched in every direction, and the next moment roiling black clouds had formed overhead, covering the sky and blotting out the sun. Fat, heavy raindrops followed, and shortly after the rain began to fall a harsh crack of thunder echoed through the air. Katara was quick to use her waterbending to shield her and Zuko from the wet drops falling from the sky, but Aang didn’t bother to use his bending to keep him dry; instead, he slowed to a stop, tilting his head back to stare up at the violent storm that had formed with unnatural speed. Something told him that this wasn’t normal. That it wasn’t _right_. 

“Odd. I don’t recall the forecast calling for rain,” Zuko muttered as he shot a disdainful glare at the sky, quickly earning a rough sigh and an eye roll from his wife.

“Oh come on, this is a blessing. Spirits, you know we need it,” Katara quipped, playfully nudging her husband's side. Aang mostly ignored the conversation between the couple as he focused on the swirling clouds overhead and the pounding rain that had already soaked almost all the way through the black cloak Zuko had asked him to wear for the infiltration of the meeting. He lifted a hand out, watching as the heavy raindrops splattered against his skin. He didn’t need the visual confirmation that the rain gave him - the slight gold shimmer that rippled across the drops as they splattered against his skin - to know that the storm was indeed the work of a spirit, and by the looks of it, a _very_ powerful one. 

“Are you alright, Aang?” Katara questioned, and he pried his gaze away from his hand to find both of his friends staring at him with blatant concern etched across their features. 

“I’m fine.” He offered simply, before quickly adding, “The rain’s just really… charged.” 

“Charged?” Zuko repeated, his eyebrows drawing together as his expression quickly grew worried.

Aang nodded at the question, beckoning the two of them closer. As they pressed around his sides he gave Katara a pointed glance before nodding towards the waterbending umbrella she’d made. She huffed at his silent request, but regardless of her annoyance, she let it fall away a moment later, letting the heavy drops land where they may. “It’s not natural,” Aang explained as he pointed out the barely-there shimmers of gold that rippled across the drops that splattered against his skin. “A spirit of some sort must have called it here.”

Zuko lifted his hand out a moment later, squinting at the drops that fell into his palm. “Why isn’t it...” he trailed off as he glanced back and forth between his own hand and Aang’s. Clearly searching for any sign of the golden glimmer when the drops touched his skin. “Oh, right.” He deadpanned a moment later, shaking the water from his hand before gesturing towards Aang, “Weird spirit stuff.” Aang rolled his eyes at the teasing remark, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“Should we be worried?” Katara asked a moment later, concern clearly lacing her tone.

“I don’t see why you should be,” Aang answered simply, meeting her bright blue eyes for a long moment as he tried his hardest to ignore the pang that resonated through his chest, silently scolding himself for still having such strong feelings even after all these years. “Like you said, you need it. Perhaps it _is_ a blessing.” He continued as he forced himself to look somewhere - anywhere - else. “Besides, spirit rain is ridiculously good for crops and such.” 

“Huh,” Zuko huffed, turning his face skyward before quietly adding, “Thank you spirits.” Zuko pulled his gaze away from the sky after a moment, beckoning for him and Katara to follow. Katara slipped into place beside her husband, leaving Aang to take up his other side as she easily bent the rain off them again. 

Block after block of city street disappeared under the trio’s feet, and Aang swore that they couldn’t make it more than ten feet without drawing unwanted attention from half of the civilians outside. Thankfully none of them did more than gawk, but Aang was certain that if it wasn’t raining, if the streets were as busy as they usually were, they would have been stopped at least half a dozen times by now. 

“So… Aang,” Katara’s voice broke the quiet almost playfully as she leaned forward to catch his eye. “Nira’s pretty, don’t you think?”

Aang let out a hefty sigh at the question, his shoulders falling as he gave her a pointed glance. “Really, Katara? We’re doing this again?” He asked dully, the exasperation in his tone practically palatable. He’d already had to deal with her trying to play matchmaker almost the whole evening yesterday, and if he was being honest, his patience wasn’t just worn thin, it was gone.

“It was just a question.” She quickly defended, lifting her hands in mock surrender.

“You do seem a tad bit too defensive,” Zuko stated as he gave Aang a sideways glance. “It’s okay though, we know it’s just because you have a crush on her.” He quipped playfully, nudging Aang in the ribs with his elbow as his mouth curled into a wolfish grin.

Aang pursed his lips into a thin line at the comment, shaking his head as he muttered, “You’re both acting like children.” He sped up just enough to whirl around and force the couple to stop in their tracks. “How is it that I’m the youngest one here?” He questioned, pointing to himself before letting his arms fall back down to his sides. “I _don’t_ have a crush on her.” He stated seriously before rolling his eyes at the notion. He’d barely had more than a single conversation with her, how did they expect him to have actual feelings for her in such a short time span? “Yes, she’s pretty. Yes, she’s an airbender. Yes, she’s a woman,” Aang rambled off the three traits they’d been practically saying on repeat for twelve hours now, lifting his hand and ticking off a finger for each statement. “Look at how perceptive we all are!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up and letting gravity pull them back down to his sides.

“Aang,” Katara began, her voice gentle as she stepped closer to him. “I’m sorry if we’re being pushy.”

“ _If_?” He laughed, shaking his head at the irony of the simple word. “Spirits, Katara. I haven’t felt more pressured into doing something since I had to fight Ozai and stop the end of the world as we know it.” He quickly explained, shaking his head and letting out a long sigh before he added, “I know that you both just want to see the airbenders come back, and trust me, I want that too, more than I’ll _ever_ be able to explain. But pressuring Nira into a bedroom with me isn’t going to bring my people back.” Both Katara’s and Zuko’s expressions fell slightly at his words, something almost guilty flitting across Katara’s face as Zuko refused to even look him in the eyes.

“I…” Aang trailed off, drawing in a deep breath to calm himself before he explained, “I know what it feels like to be forced to do something that you want nothing to do with, and I will _never_ place that kind of burden on another person.” Zuko finally met his eyes, and Katara opened her mouth to say something before Aang easily stopped her, raising a single hand as he finished, “She’s coming to the Air Temple with me, she’s going to train to be a master, and I’m not going to request - or push - for anything more from her.”

A long moment of quiet lapsed on between the trio, only the distant rumble of thunder and the relentless patter of rain hitting the ground filling the air, until finally, Zuko spoke up, “I didn’t realize you had such strong feelings about this.”

“Of course I do.” Aang stated simply before quickly asking, “Do you have any idea what she asked me last night?” He didn’t give either of them a chance to answer the rhetorical question before he did so himself, “ _Did the Fire Nation save me from one set of captors just to hand me over to another_?” He scoffed as soon as he finished speaking, shaking his head as he recalled the conversation, and the way that she was clearly scared and suspicious of whatever plans everyone else seemed to have for her. “The first airbender I’ve met in over a century, and that’s the question she started off our conversation with. Do you have any idea how much that stung?” He questioned, his voice growing darker as he wondered what exactly she’d gone through in the past that instilled such a deep mistrust for others in her. “She’s terrified. She needs some space, and all you guys want me to do is smother her.”

Aang didn’t exactly mean to come across like a scolding parent, even though that’s exactly what he managed to accomplish. Zuko simply let his eyes drift back down to the wet cobblestones underfoot, not even bothering to defend himself from the accusation. Katara, on the other hand, seemed like she wanted to say something; she opened her mouth to speak, but she must have come up short for any kind of apology or defense, because a moment later she pursed her lips together and let her gaze settle on a nearby puddle. Right. What had he expected? “Come on,” Aang sighed, turning away from his friends and starting back down the street towards the cafe that was hosting the harmony rally meeting, “I’m tired of standing in the rain.”

It didn’t take long for Zuko and Katara to catch up with him, and he had to admit, he felt a little guilty for the silence that enveloped them, he knew it was his fault. Really though, what did they expect? He could tell they just wanted to do him a favor, but quite frankly, he didn’t need them to try and set him up with some kind of arranged relationship. He needed everyone to take a step back and stop trying to push him and Nira together. Sure, of course he’d considered the implications; she was close to his age, both of her parents had been airbenders too, so if they did have kids there would be absolutely no doubt that they would be airbenders, and Katara was right, she was beautiful. 

However, while the other three nations were quick to always jump at the thought of marriage, it wasn’t the same for the Air Nomads, it never had been. Even back before the genocide when their numbers were fine there were only three to five marriages a year in his whole _nation_ , the same number of marriages most _cities_ in the other nations saw. It wasn’t a decision that was taken lightly by his people, they understood their natural flightiness, and they knew better than to swear vows to a partner that they might tire of in a year or two. Sure, he’d always enjoyed the thought of a close-knit family, a wife and kids; but he was the exception among his people, not the rule, and he sincerely doubted that Nira shared his same fondness for the idea of marriage. And after falling in love with Katara and then losing her, he wasn’t sure if he wanted something short-term. He knew how badly it hurt to grow feelings for a person just to have them leave you, and it was a feeling he’d rather not subject himself to again.

He was pulled from his train of thought when Zuko tapped his arm, silently gesturing for him to raise his hood and hide his tattoos. He quickly did so as soon as he realized how close they were, watching as Zuko and Katara did the same. A quick glance through the cafe windows confirmed that the place was absolutely packed, people had to stand to fit everyone inside. Zuko was right, the harmony restoration movement never really had come to an end in the Fire Nation.

Aang easily pulled the single-person door open, ushering Katara and Zuko inside before following after them. They were forced to stand at the very back of the room, practically pressed into the windows behind them. Thankfully, their appearance drew almost no notice from the people around them, people who were far too caught up in the speech being given to notice a few more bodies than before. 

“We are tired of being forced to give up our customs and traditions!” The angry man pacing back and forth on a makeshift stage at the front of the building shouted, his voice carrying through the room with ease. “We are tired of being ruled by people who don't even belong here!” He yelled passionately, and Aang quickly glanced around at the people filling the room; most of them were nodding along to his words. 

“No waterbender should ever sit on the Fire Nation throne!” A chorus of cheers filled the air as soon as he finished speaking, and he waited for everyone to quiet down again before he continued, “But that's the future we're headed towards, my brethren. How long do we have until our Firelord knocks up that Water Tribe slut?” Aang clenched his teeth at the shouted insult, it hardly seemed fair to call Katara a slut for having sex with her _husband_. “How long until she gives him waterbenders instead of firebenders?” He questioned loudly as Aang glanced over at his friends, catching a glimpse of the thin line of Katara’s mouth and the way her arms were crossed over her chest, looking at the heavy glare Zuko was shooting at the man as he practically swore his friend was trying to set him on fire with his eyes alone. “How long until we're expected to bow to a ruler who isn't even of pure blood?”

A chorus of disapproving shouts filled the air at the question, and Aang shifted closer to his friend before softly muttering, “I think you might want to get up there.” He knew that the longer this went on, the longer Zuko listened to complete strangers talk about him and his wife like this, the more and more prone he might be to using more than just his words to end the meeting. 

Zuko glanced over at him for a half-second before quickly nodding and starting to press through the crowd, slipping between people with ease as he approached the makeshift stage. It didn’t take him long to make it to the front of the crowd, and he easily jumped up on the stage, immediately earning several surprised gasps and even a few curses from people out in the crowd. Katara quickly glanced over at Aang at the sudden change, worry crossing her face before she began to press through the crowd after Zuko. Aang tried to reach out and grab her arm to stop her, but she disappeared into the wall bodies before his fingers could get a grip on her.

“You can't be up here.” The disgruntled voice coming from the stage pulled Aang’s attention back over to the scene playing out before him. He watched as Zuko lifted his arms and pulled his hood off, drawing a rough gasp from the room as they all recognized the Firelord. Even the man giving the speech to everyone in the room paled slightly at the sight, taking a few steps back as the room lapsed into complete silence.

“How dare you speak of my wife that way,” Zuko growled, taking an almost predatory step towards the speech-giver. “How dare you speak of my unborn children that way.” He continued darkly, taking another calculated step closer as the stranger quickly scrambled backward, almost falling off the makeshift stage in his attempt to keep a good amount of distance between himself and the angry Firelord. “How dare you-”

“Zuko, don't,” Katara cut him off before he could finish, rushing in front of her husband and pressing her hands against his chest as she forced him to come to a stop. Suddenly Aang was thankful that she’d slipped away when she did, he knew Zuko well enough to know that he was toeing the line between civility and violence. At least Katara would be able to calm him down. “He's not worth it.” She added, glancing over her shoulder and giving the man a sharp glare. A few murmurs went through the crowd as people began to piece two and two together, quickly realizing exactly who Katara was.

“You.” The single syllable was practically snarled, the man who had almost fallen off stage suddenly seemed too enraged to care about the very real possibility of pushing Zuko past the point of self-control. “You have the nerve to show your face here?”

Katara turned around at the shouted question, her fingers twitching at her sides in annoyance when Zuko stepped slightly in front of her; however, if he did so to hold her back, or to protect her, Aang couldn’t tell. “This is her nation, she can show her face wherever she pleases,” Zuko bit back harshly, the tone of his voice a warning in itself.

For a moment, Aang thought that the man leading the rally was going to step down, but a half-second later he shattered the thin illusion of compliance. “No, this _isn't_ her nation she belongs in the poles.” 

“I _belong_ at my husband's side,” Katara spoke up, her voice ringing through the mostly silent room, stern and demanding like an angry mother scolding an unruly child. “Not a day has passed since I married Zuko that I haven't done everything in my power to be a good leader for your people. I didn't let my anger or prejudice's cloud my judgment, and spirits know that I had more of a right to than _any_ of you do.” She continued, her voice steadily growing darker with each word that fell from her lips. “The Water Tribes didn't lay siege to your cities. We didn't enslave your benders, we didn't take mother's away from their children!” She shouted, taking a step closer as she drew in a rough breath, practically shaking with rage. “You did.” She grit out, her voice a low, almost inaudible snarl.

A smirk pulled at the corner of the man’s face at her outburst, and he gestured between her and Zuko as he triumphantly questioned, “If you hate us so much then why did you marry one of us?” The crowd in the room quickly got riled up at the question, a cacophony of voices filling the air as soon as the leader of the rally finished speaking.

“Because I love Zuko more than I hate what his forefathers did!” The room quieted once again at her outburst, deathly silent once more as Katara continued, “Because in the end, if the only way we got to be together was through the sieges, and the war, and the battles… then I wouldn't have changed any of it even if I could have.” She stated, her voice growing softer as something that was almost shameful tainted her tone at the admission. 

“I didn't marry Zuko for the crown or the throne; I married him because he's the love of my life.” She added a half-second later, the confrontational tone quickly building in her voice once again. “You can't tell me that my feelings for my husband are wrong because we're different. Because we bend different elements, because we come from different nations, because we don't look the same,” Katara continued, her voice growing more and more emotional with each word. “You claim to want harmony, but you're the ones creating chaos!” She exclaimed, taking a menacing step towards the stranger on stage before demanding, “Give me one good reason why I don't belong at my husband's side.” 

“You're not from here!” He shouted his answer, earning another chorus of approval from the crowded room. 

“You're right, I'm not. But you know who was? Ozai.” The crowd fell silent at the mention of the previous Firelord, and even Zuko visibly tensed at the mention of his father. “Ozai was from here, and he proved how much he cared didn't he? Drafting your children into war, raising the taxes over and over again until you couldn't afford to pay them, and then when there was no money left, throwing you in debtors prisons to pay off what you owed.” Katara didn’t seem to notice the subdued mood that flooded over the crowd at the reminder of Ozai’s reign, everyone standing in the room was more than old enough to remember the late Firelord’s reign with piercing clarity. “Tell me about one bill that I've endorsed, or proposed, or co-authored that has hurt you. Tell me about one candidate for public office that I supported who hasn't handed out aid freely,” Katara demanded, anger making her voice rough as she shouted, “Go on! Tell me!”

“I…” The man leading the rally faltered at the question, clearly coming up short for an answer.

“That's right! You can't think of one because there isn't one!” Katara snarled, and for a moment Aang wondered if she was the one that he should worry about getting violent. Surprisingly, Zuko calmed her a moment later, resting a hand on his wife’s forearm and seeming to ground her in the moment. She took a second to draw in a breath, her eyes flicking down to the ground as she clearly did her best to gain some composure. 

“I may not be from here, but I care about you more than the last _three_ generations of Firelord's have.” She explained as she looked back up at the man leading the rally. “I _still_ care, even after _everything_ you've put me through.” 

For a moment, Aang thought that Katara might have had the last word; but even though the stranger at least seemed a little softer, he still refused to relinquish his stance. “This isn’t about your political track record.” He stated plainly, his voice unwavering as he stared her and Zuko down.

“What is it about then?” Katara asked, her voice rising again as she quickly grew impatient with his refusal to even consider changing his mind.

“It’s about the simple fact that the next ruler of the Fire Nation won’t be one of us! They won’t share our ideals, our culture, our _blood_!” Aang rolled his eyes at the weak defense. Sure, he understood the importance of bloodlines, at least when it came to politics; but really, did it matter who contributed to the bloodline so long as Zuko had an heir? The way people were demanding that he have a child with a Fire Nation woman seemed more than just a little old fashioned. “If you _cared_ about this nation you’d have your marriage nullified and you’d go back where you belong.”

“If _you_ cared about your nation you would accept the decisions of your _Firelord_ , and you’d respect his _wife_ regardless of her origins,” Zuko grit out darkly, stepping in front of Katara before he gruffly ordered, “This meeting is over, get out.” A few tense seconds passed in silence before Zuko let out a frustrated huff and took another looming step towards the man, raising his voice as he demanded, “Are you deaf?”

Aang started to slip through the crowd when he could tell where things were headed, Zuko wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge, and the man leading the rally seemed to want to start a fight. He probably figured that he might be able to hurt Katara in the mayhem that would certainly follow the first blow. If the Firelord wouldn’t relinquish his wife willingly then why not just kill her? Right?

“I have a right to speak my mind. We all do. We’re not leaving.” The stranger challenged, and Zuko visibly tensed at the refusal to comply. 

Thankfully, the room was small even if it was crowded, and Aang managed to jump up onto the stage before Zuko or Katara could do anything to further escalate the situation. He quickly stepped in front of the two, lifting a hand in peace as he spoke up, “There’s a difference between speaking your mind and inciting others to violence.”

It only took a moment for the stranger to recognize him, though it wasn’t like he was particularly hard to identify; there weren’t as many people running around with airbender tattoos these days as there once were. “What’s this?” He chuckled, gesturing to Aang with an open hand before leaning to the side slightly so he could directly address Zuko, “Too scared to face us without your _pet_ Avatar?” Aang pursed his lips into a thin line at the attempted insult, a sudden flare of heat at his back alerting him to the fact that Zuko was quite literally seething. “You can’t just have him fight all of your battles for you.”

The mocking insult was almost the straw the broke the camelelephant's back. Zuko’s footsteps were hard on the ground as he quickly approached the shorter man, and Aang was the only thing that stopped him as he lifted an arm, quite literally holding Zuko back. “I’m growing tired of your disrespect,” Zuko hissed, the line of his body tense as Aang struggled to control him with a single arm.

Before Aang had a chance to try and calm Zuko down the rally leader’s mocking voice filled the air again, “If only you were enough of a man to do something about it.” 

One second the room was deadly silent, and the next, total chaos erupted.

Zuko was the first one to throw a blast of fire that Aang just barely managed to duck out of the way of. The rally leader also managed to avoid the blow before returning one of his own. A chorus of shouts and even a few shocked screams rang against the walls as half of the people in attendance fled, and the other half quickly shifted into offensive positions. Even just a quick glance was enough to confirm that only about half of the people who choose to stay and fight had any real idea what they were doing, which was for the best, considering the fact that there was almost no way he could use the cramped space to his advantage.

Katara quickly drew the moisture out of the air, and suddenly Aang couldn’t be more thankful for the rain earlier, if it wasn’t for the unexpected shower she wouldn’t have had enough to bend. Zuko deflected the sloppy blow aimed at him, and it shot past his head, igniting the thick curtains lining the back wall on fire. It was hard enough to keep up with everything that was happening when visibility was clear, but the thick grey smoke that choked the air made it impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. It was both a blessing and a curse. They needed the concealment, but the fire was eating away at the curtain with devastating speed, and the simple wooden wall behind it was already flickering with the first tongues of flame as the structure caught fire.

The thick smoke made it hard to breathe, hard to think, and even harder to speak. But regardless, he made Zuko a promise; Katara would make it out of this safe, regardless of how it turned out in the end. It was a promise that he wasn’t about to break. 

“Zuko!” Katara’s worried shout sounded from a few feet behind him, and he quickly scrambled after the noise. “Zuko!” It was closer this time, a little to his left. He reached blindly in that direction before he felt fabric brush against his fingertips. He managed to wrap his fingertips in the clothing before pulling it, and the person wearing it, closer. “Zuko?” Katara’s hopeful voice sounded over the crackling of the building as it continued going up in flames. It wasn’t until he pulled her close enough to see the bright blue of her eyes that her expression fell slightly, worry taking over as her gaze quickly drifted back to the thick sea of grey all around.

“We’re gonna find him,” Aang offered quietly, knowing better than to use any more air than he needed. As if on cue, Zuko’s rough, angry voice echoed in the air around them a half-second later as he shouted for someone to let go of him. Katara started towards the noise immediately, almost pulling out of Aang’s grip before ultimately dragging him with her. 

“Get off!” Zuko’s voice grunted just before a heavy thud sounded, making the thin, makeshift stage underfoot shake dangerously. Aang didn’t have time to worry about the structural integrity of the floor underfoot, instead focusing on the almost deafening crack of the roof beams beginning to split. The building was about to go down, and if they didn’t get out soon, they would be going with it. 

“Zuko!” Katara shouted just before a rough cough tore from her throat. A half-second later, they almost tripped over Zuko as he picked himself up off the floor. Katara gasped as she lunged for him, practically dragging him to his feet all on her own, her hands frantically roaming over his singed clothing as she checked to see if he was hurt. 

“I hate to break this up, but we need to get out of here,” Aang quickly spoke up, only a hint of the panic he was feeling leaking into his voice. Zuko quickly nodded, grabbing one of Katara’s arms as he started forward and Aang airbent the smoke away, clearing the cafe with ease and revealing the fact that not everyone had made it out yet. One person was frantically searching for the door, and as soon as the air cleared enough for him to see it he bolted outside. Two other people were unconscious on the ground, and Aang slowed at the sight. He couldn’t just leave them to die.

Katara quickly glanced between him and the two unconscious forms before quickly suggesting, “We could put out the fire.” Aang forced himself not to scoff at the statement. As if he hadn’t already thought of that. There wasn’t enough water outside for them to use to put out the fire, and even if there was, the building was already so weak that it might not be able to stand up to the added weight. He’d even considered using airbending to put it out, but in order to do that he’d have to remove the air from the space. Sure it would put out the flames, but any people in the building wouldn’t be able to breathe while he did that. The risk was still too high.

Aang shook his head at the suggestion before bluntly stating, “I’ll get them out.” He wasn’t sure how he’d manage to pull two unconscious, full grown men from a burning building before it collapsed, but he’d manage. Either that or he’d die trying. 

“Katara. Get outside,” Zuko ordered a half-second later, releasing his grip on her arm before he quickly continued, “I’ll be right there.”

“Are you crazy?” She questioned, her voice desperate as her eyes quickly flicked between her husband and the unconscious men lying on the ground. 

“Katara.” The three syllables of her name held an almost commanding tone as he rested a hand on her upper arm and pushed her towards the door slightly. “Go.”

For a moment, Aang thought that she was going to deny his request, but after a lingering moment, she simply pursed her lips into a thin line before nodding once and starting towards the door. It only took a few seconds for Katara to disappear outside, and Zuko clasped Aang’s shoulder before starting towards one of the unconscious men, leaving his friend to do the same. 

Aang quickly closed the gap separating him from the other man, bending down and grabbing one of his limp arms before digging his feet into the floor and dragging him up enough to where he could wrap his arms around his waist before hoisting his weight over his shoulder. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, checking to make sure that Zuko could handle that person he’d chosen to get out, watching as he managed to get the much larger man's arm wrapped around his shoulders so he could drag him out. 

He made it out of the building before Zuko, just in time to almost walk into a sudden fireblast that had been meant for Katara. He practically dropped the unconscious man on the ground without a second thought, suddenly preoccupied with keeping Katara and himself alive. It only took him a second to bend a giant wall of earth up, shielding him and Katara from any attempted attacks for the time being.

“It’s that prick who was giving the speech!” Katara practically snarled, water from the storm earlier hovering at her side. 

“Just him?”

“For now…” She answered, trailing off as she glanced around at the crowd of people who had fled the meeting, and the onlookers that had been attracted to the flames billowing up into the sky. It looked like most of the people from the meeting had fled, but there were plenty of civilians pressed against the other side of the city square watching with wide eyes and speaking in hushed voices; one in particular caught his eye longer than the rest, the burnt orange and pale yellow of his own people always made him do a double take. His eyes met Nira’s for a half-second, her mouth falling open slightly as she glanced between him and the burning building behind him when Katara fisted a hand in the sleeve of his robe, pulling his attention back to the woman at his side.

He glanced at her and then the building, watching as Zuko stepped out and Katara let out a relieved sigh. He barely even had time to deposit the unconscious man slung across his back on the ground before a shrill, scared voice came from behind him - from inside the building; “Mommy?” 

Aang started forward without a second thought, the simple knowledge that there was still a kid in the building had him pulling free from Katara’s grip in a heartbeat. If he had to guess, he’d probably say that the child hid under a table after the fighting started, and now that the room was finally empty he was wondering why his parents left him, and where they’d gone. Zuko seemed to have the same exact idea he did, because he quickly slipped back inside the building before Aang could even catch up to him. Only a few seconds after Zuko disappeared back inside the building it let out an almost deafening groan, the harsh crack of beams and joists giving way reverberating through the ground as the better half of the ceiling collapsed. 

Aang skidded to a stop just before the front door, now blocked with smoldering beams. He barely even registered the loud murmur from the small crowd on the other side of the market square as he numbly wondered if Zuko was still alive. Only half of the roof had caved, there was a chance that he could be alright, even if the chance was slim.

Katara quickly sprinted past him, and he barely had the wits about him to reach out and grab hold of the loose black cloak covering her shoulders, pulling her to an abrupt stop a half-second before she whirled around to face him. She reached up to try and pry his grip loose as her wild, desperate eyes met his own. “We have to go back in there!” She growled, fingers fumbling for enough of a grip to pull his hand away, fear and adrenaline making her movements sloppy.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Aang questioned roughly as he pulled her away from the building, stepping in front of her as he blocked her off from the burning structure. He’d made Zuko a promise, that no matter what Katara would be kept safe. It wasn’t a promise he’d be able to keep if she went running into a blazing inferno.

“Zuko’s in there!” Katara shouted, fisting her hands in his robes as she tried to shove him out of the way, but he’d grown over the years; he’d put on little more than a hundred pounds and shot up another two feet or so; and if he didn’t want to move, then it sufficed to say that Katara just didn’t have it in her to force him to do so. 

“He wouldn’t want you to get hurt!” Aang retorted, but Katara only shook her head at his refusal, tears welling up in her eyes as she pulled her hands away. 

“He’s going to die in there!” She shouted, accusation tainting each word that fell from her lips, and Aang could finish the sentence for her even if she wasn’t going to blatantly accuse him of it, at least not publicly - _and his blood will be on your hands_.

Before Aang could even open his mouth to explain that he had a way to put out the fire, and that at this point it was the _only_ option, the firebender that had been attacking Katara when he first stumbled out of the burning building slid to a stop at the edge of the wall of earth he’d bent up earlier, the mans fingertips crackling with lightning. He barely even had enough time to shove Katara out of the way before a jagged bolt of lightning was cutting through the air, catching him in the shoulder as the scalding sear of it crackled through his nerves. 

He hated lightning. It was what Azula had used to kill him years ago, it was something that Ozai had used to try to kill him, and he only wished that he could go the rest of his years without feeling the static charge of it running through his body, too sharp and strong to be contained. He forced his tensing muscles to loosen, drawing in a deep breath and closing his eyes as he focused on redirecting the current, letting it coil low in his gut before directing it out from the arm that hadn’t been struck, sending it skyward where it couldn’t do anyone harm.

The second the charge left his body his knees crumpled, the sudden feeling of having so much power coursing through his veins one second, only to have it suddenly disappear the next always made him weak for a bit. It took a moment for his senses to re-calibrate, for lack of a better word. Unfortunately, the man who had been leading the rally earlier hadn’t retreated while Aang had been dealing with the lightning blast from earlier. In fact, two other firebenders had joined him.

Aang silently hoped that Katara would be able to hold them off for the half-minute it would take for his strength to come back, because right now, he was in no state for a three-on-one fight. The rally leader only managed to take a few steps forward before he was suddenly tackled to the ground, a loud grunt escaping him as Aang struggled to keep his vision from blurring, trying to figure out what was going on. 

It took a moment for his eyes to focus on the sight of Nira on the ground with the rally leader. For a moment it looked like he was winning as he pinned her down beneath him, only to have her wrench a knee into his gut a moment later, pulling a harsh huff of breath from him before she managed to flip their positions, pinning him down with ease. The dull thudding sound of bone striking flesh filled the air over and over again, until the rally leader stopped struggling his body going limp against the ground.

Aang finally managed to will himself back onto his feet as the other two firebenders quickly ignited their fists, their attention fully focused on Nira as she righted herself in one quick, fluid motion. The first blast of fire that was sent her way she avoided with ease, dodging with all the skill of any airbending master. The second blast of fire was sustained, but she managed to deflect it with her own blast of air, shielding herself with ease. When the roaring flames finally died down around her she righted herself slightly as Aang finally managed to get his eyesight to stop fading in and out, quickly noticing the almost startled looks on the faces of the two firebenders she was facing off with. 

“You’re an airbender?” One of them questioned almost breathlessly, something like awe in his voice. Nira didn’t grant his question an answer before she went on the offense. Blowing one of them into the rock wall that Aang had bent up earlier with enough force to make him slump across the ground in an unconscious heap before setting her sights on the second attacker, only to have him turn tail and run before he could meet the same fate as either of his comrades.

“Aang!” Katara’s worried, desperate voice broke over the loud murmurs of the crowd and the crackling of the burning building behind him. She quickly rushed in front of him, her hands digging into his shoulders as her eyes searched his face for a moment. He glanced over his shoulder at the hungry flames as they lapped at the portion of the building that was still standing, shaking the fogginess from his head as he quickly prioritized stopping the fire.

“I’m gonna put out the fire, it’ll suck the air out of the place for a few seconds, no one will be able to breathe.” He quickly explained, resting a hand on Katara’s arm as he sternly added, “ _Don’t_ go in there until _after_ I’m done.” She quickly nodded her agreement, and Aang quickly released his hold on her before he jumped up onto the wall he’d created.

He set his sights on the smoldering building before him as he laced his fingers together, focusing on the center of the building as he slowly began to pull his hands apart while drawing in a deep breath. Learning how to remove the air from a space was something that happened _after_ his people had already died, the monks had elected to make him a master without having learned the final level of airbending, simply citing the fact that it was too dangerous for a twelve-year-old to know. And now that he knew how to control it, he agreed, no child should hold that kind of power. Avatar or not. It was dangerous, it was the simplest way he could think of to end a person's life, but it was also an effective tool for putting out a fire. Fire couldn’t exist without air to fuel it. 

As soon as he started to create a rift the fire immediately died out in the space that he’d removed the air from, and with every passing moment, every few feet he managed to open the void, it became harder and harder to widen the area. By the time he’d finally reached the edges of the building, watching as the last few flickering flames died, he was shaking with the effort. He’d cleared rooms before, but never an entire building, and it was harder than he imagined it would be to hold the air back when all it wanted to do was fill the empty space.

He let a second pass before he released his hold over the element, letting out a long breath as the air flowed back into the empty space and smoke immediately began wafting from the now extinguished building. The moment he finished Katara rushed towards the building, crawling in through a broken window before dipping under a collapsed beam. Aang was just about to jump down off the wall when a sudden fireball was sent his way, hitting the wall right next to his feet and causing him to lose his balance for a moment as he fell. 

Despite the not-so-graceful fall, he managed to land on his feet with ease as his eyes quickly settled on the firebender that had run away from Nira only a moment ago. He didn’t waste any time in shifting his feet so his stance was wider before easily capturing his legs in the stones that lined the street, anchoring him in place. 

The man seemed to panic for a moment before wildly flinging another fireball at him, and he easily bent a puddle of water up off the street beside him, deflecting the shot with a loud sizzling noise as steam rose into the air. Before the man could attempt another attack he used the remaining water to lock his hands in ice, effectively rendering him useless for at least a few minutes, it would take him some time to burn his way out of that.

Aang quickly righted himself before starting towards the building, and almost as soon as he started to close the gap Katara was suddenly in the window again, a soot-covered toddler in her arms that she quickly set down on the ground before dipping back inside. Thankfully the child seemed fine, shocked and scared, but he didn’t even have a burn mark on him. Katara quickly found the window again, this time, with Zuko clasped against her, his arm around her shoulders as she supported the brunt of his weight.

Aang quickly rushed forward, helping Zuko up over the window ledge and onto the ground, his legs shaking with the effort it took to remain standing after surviving a collapsed burning building. 

“Are you alright?” Aang questioned as he took in Zuko’s appearance. Other than some singed clothes, the soot that was everywhere, and a mild limp, he didn’t look that bad; at least it didn’t appear as though he’d taken any major damage. 

“I’m fine,” Zuko answered, his voice raspy. “Some help you are.” He grumbled begrudgingly just before a cough wracked his body. Katara quickly jumped through the window after him, reaching down and taking the stunned child's hand as Aang led Zuko to a shelf of rock that had been bent during the minor scuffle before helping him sit down on it the firebender asked, “Why didn’t you glow it up back there?”

“I can’t just go into the Avatar state every time I have to fight someone,” Aang explained, stepping back as Katara made the child take a seat next to Zuko. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be?” He asked before he quickly reminded him, “It’s not like I’m myself when I’m like that.” It took a moment for Zuko to nod at that, and as Katara quickly stepped away to find some water Aang took a closer look at the child. “How is he?”

Zuko glanced over at the shell shocked kid at the question, giving him a quick once over before he answered, “He’s alive, so I’d say he’s pretty damn good.” His eyes drifted back up to meet Aang’s before he continued, “I’ll have an officer locate his parents.” Katara returned a moment later, and Zuko groaned at the sight of the water swirling under her fingertips. “Ugh, street water.”

“Do you want me to heal you or not?” Katara questioned, no small amount of sass tainting her voice as she stared down at her husband. It took him a moment, but finally, he relented with a simple nod, earning a muttered, “That’s what I thought.” from his wife as she bent down to begin her work.

Aang turned to face Nira as Katara settled into healing Zuko, his eyes lingering on the bright specks of red splattered across her face from when she’d punched the rally leader into unconsciousness. It wasn’t until her dark grey eyes flicked up to meet his gaze that he finally spoke up, “What were you doing out here?”

Nira shrugged at the question, glancing back over at Katara and Zuko as she arched a scarred eyebrow. “Exploring.”

He nodded once at the simple answer, looking around the square for anyone else wearing the colors of his people and coming up woefully short. “Where’s Ruik?” 

“Probably back at the palace,” Nira offered simply, glancing back up at him and holding his gaze as he tried his best to ignore the quiet murmurs from some of the civilians standing a few feet away. 

_I thought he was the last one._

_Do you think they’re fucking?_

_How in the world did he hide her for so many years?_

“He didn’t escort you?” Aang questioned, tuning out the people standing nearby as he did his best to forget that he even heard them in the first place, instead focusing on Nira and the conversation at hand. He had to admit, he was a little disappointed in Ruik, it wasn’t like him to shirk his duties at all, especially when Aang was the one to specifically request his help. 

“I might have declined his services,” Nira answered, something almost guilty in her voice.

“Did he do something?” Aang asked, concern leaking into his voice at the thought of Ruik doing exactly what he’d requested that he refrain from doing, of him saying something that made Nira feel obligated to repopulate their race.

“Other than annoy me?” She questioned almost rhetorically, shrugging and shaking her head before she finished, “No, not really.” 

Aang simply nodded at her answer, silently thankful that it wasn’t anything more than a simple clash of personalities. He should have seen it coming really, Ruik was playful and upbeat, an optimist in every sense of the word, Nira on the other hand, so far all he’d seen from her was seriousness, skepticism, she probably needed someone who knew when to be subdued. “I know he can be a bit overzealous-”

“Overzealous?” Nira cut him off, her dark eyes searching his own as she gave him a puzzled look. 

It took a moment for Aang to realize that she was asking for clarification, and he quickly offered up a few synonyms off the top of his head, “Enthusiastic. A little too… high-strung. Not particularly calm.”

Nira made a soft humming noise at the explanation, nodding her head once before stating, “I would have picked the term wilfully ignorant.”

Aang quirked an eyebrow at the words before skeptically asking, “You know what ignorant means, but not what overzealous means?”

Nira quickly crossed her arms over her chest, a slight almost defensive shift changing in her posture before she spoke up, her tone blatantly sarcastic, “Sorry there weren’t a lot of schools for Fire Nation fugitives when I was growing up.” 

Aang let out a hefty sigh at the sudden shift from friendly to antagonistic, he’d noticed the same thing last night too, but he’d simply written it off as a side effect from all the stress she was suddenly being put through. Now, he was beginning to wonder if it was just a facet of her personality. “Nira, that’s not what I meant.” He offered gently, hoping to soothe whatever sore spot he’d obviously prodded. 

“Are you sure? Because you seemed a little surprised that I knew what a big word meant,” Nira countered, still clearly riled up by his choice of words from before. “What’s next? Are you going to ask me if I can read?” She scoffed as soon as she finished speaking, shaking her head as she let her arms fall limply at her sides.

Aang pursed his lips into a thin line at the question, staring down at her for a long moment before he finally decided to set his pride aside for the time being. Besides, he could understand how his words might be misinterpreted as an insult. “I’m sorry.” He offered after a moment, watching as Nira’s miffed expression quickly faltered. “I failed to realize how that might come across.” Nira stared at him in shocked silence for a long moment, opening and closing her mouth as she clearly faltered to come up with a response. It was almost sad, how obvious it was that nobody had ever really given her an apology before, at least not a sincere one.

“Excuse me, Avatar?” An almost timid voice broke the quiet a moment later, and Aang quickly glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting the almost worried golden gaze of one of Zuko’s officers. “Could you let this guy go?” The question was soft as he gestured towards the firebender that he’d captured in the earth a few minutes earlier. Aang simply nodded at the inquiry, twisting one of his feet before spreading his fingers and pushing his hands down towards the ground as the rocks trapping the man in place flattened back down into the road.

The moment he set the man free two officers grabbed each of his arms, forcibly escorting him away from the market square. Aang watched them depart for a moment before turning his sights back to Nira. “You could’ve gotten hurt fighting against firebenders like that.” He stated softly, remembering the way that she’d initially been pinned down before she regained control of the situation. He was in no state to help if she’d needed it. If she hadn’t intervened then sure, he would have had to deal with the three firebenders, but that was what the Avatar state was for; saving his ass when he was in a state where he couldn’t keep fighting, or when he was going up against impossible odds. She didn’t have that going for her.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I can handle myself.” She bit back, a defensive note in her voice as he quickly realized that she’d taken his words as an insult, as some kind of admittance that he didn’t think she could win a fight.

Aang clenched his teeth together for a moment, pushing the annoyance that was welling up within him away before he questioned, “Are you purposely misconstruing my words?” Nira immediately rolled her eyes at the question, letting out a hefty sigh as her shoulders fell. And when she met his gaze again without having responded he gave her a pointed look, hoping that she’d get the gist that he wasn’t going to let this go until she answered.

An almost awkward beat of silence passed as they stared at each other, both caught in a standoff before Nira blatantly admitted, “I don’t know what that means.”

“Purposely or misconstruing?” Aang asked without thinking, and it wasn’t until Nira narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips into a thin line that he realized what a dumb question it had been in the first place.

“What do you think?” Nira asked sarcastically, the sass in her tone practically a tangible thing on its own.

“Right,” Aang muttered, letting his gaze drift down to the ground underfoot before he quietly added, “That was stupid of me.” He shook his head and drew in a breath before glancing back up at her, stepping just a little closer before he explained, “I wasn’t trying to say that you can’t take care of yourself, I was just trying to say that you shouldn’t put yourself in harms way for _me_.” For a moment he thought about reaching out and resting a hand on her arm, but he quickly thought better of it when he remembered the way she’d batted his hand away just a few hours ago. “I’m the Avatar. I get in a lot of fights.” He offered plainly, watching as something almost concerned pulled at her features.

“Are you going to tell me that because you’re the Avatar you have to fight those battles all on your own too?” She asked a moment later, her voice growing more subdued as she stared up at him. 

It took Aang a moment to respond, partially surprised by the fact that she seemingly cared enough to want to help. She hadn’t even known him for a whole day and here she was already throwing herself at firebenders to help him when he needed it. He knew it was reckless, and he knew that it was behavior that he should discourage, but he couldn’t find it in him to do so. “No.” He offered simply after a long moment, lowering his voice slightly as he craned his neck down so that they would be closer to the same height before he added, “But I am going to tell you that as one of two airbenders in existence, you should try to have a little more self-preservation.” A beat of silence passed as she seemingly mulled over his words before he added, “You’re far more important than you realize.”

She gave him a disbelieving look at the statement, and she opened her mouth to say something just before Zuko’s voice broke over the quiet, effectively cutting her off before she could even begin. “Aang. Nira.” They both turned slightly to look at him, and Aang quickly righted himself, standing back up to his full height as he watched his friend glance between the two of them for a second. “Are you guys coming?” He questioned blatantly, gesturing towards one of the many streets leading away from the market square. “I already missed breakfast, I’d rather not miss lunch too.”

It took Aang a moment to switch from serious to playful, but he managed to slip into his default role with ease, a smile lighting up his face as he stepped forward and playfully quipped; “Spirits forbid the _mighty Firelord_ go without two meals!” He shook his head and let out a disapproving huff as he looked Zuko up and down before sarcastically adding, “How _will_ you ever survive?”

Zuko let out a long breath as Katara chuckled, shaking his head as he reached out and rested a hand on each of his shoulders, “Aang, sometimes…” he trailed off, digging his fingers deeper into his skin and barely shaking him back and forth before he finished, “Sometimes you make me want to finish wiping out the airbenders.”

Aang raised a single eyebrow at the meaningless threat, he knew there was no heat behind it, but he could practically feel the discomfort rolling off of Nira in waves at his words. “Zuko!” Katara scolded him a moment later, slapping his back with a hand as she ordered, “Don’t you dare.” Her eyes quickly drifted over her husband and then Aang before she jokingly added, “I’m too young to be a widow.”

She turned and started to walk away as soon as she finished speaking, and it took a moment for her words to finally settle in before Zuko let go of him and turned to look at his departing wife. “Wait…” He trailed off, glancing at Aang and quickly looking him up and down before skeptically asking, “Did you just insinuate I would lose a fight against _Aang_?”

Katara didn’t even turn around at the question, simply throwing a quick, “He’s the Avatar, Zuko!” over her shoulder as she continued down the road.

Aang smirked at Katara’s retort, clasping Zuko’s shoulder with a firm hand and playfully jostling him as he quipped, “Don’t worry sifu, I’d go easy on you.”

## ~~~~~*****~~~~~

“I hate to see you go so soon,” Zuko offered as he watched Aang easily toss the few bags he brought with him into Appa’s saddle before turning towards his friend.

“I know,” Aang sighed, stepping towards Zuko before stopping at his side. “But it’s a two day trip to the Southern Air Temple, and Sokka’s gonna give me a lecture for not being there when he got back.” Zuko snorted at the admission, a smile curling the corners of his mouth at the mention of his brother-in-law. The two men lapsed into a long moment of silence, content to wait for Katara’s arrival before bidding their farewells. 

Aang glanced away from his friend, looking over at Appa and Nira as the young woman buried her hands in the bisons thick fur. She’d been completely mesmerized by his bison from the moment she laid eyes on him, and of course Appa had taken to her quickly, sky bison always loved airbenders. Appa nuzzled his face into her side before blowing out a long breath, ruffling Nira’s hair and robes, and almost blowing her down; Nira laughed at the bison’s playfulness, a bright, tinkling sound that echoed against the cobblestone courtyard. Aang smiled at the sound, some small part of him silently taking mental stock of the fact that this was the first time he’d ever heard her _really_ laugh.

“I’m glad that she’s going with you,” Zuko offered softly, and Aang quickly glanced over at his friend and the knowing smile plastered on his face.

“Zuko,” Aang sighed, his shoulders falling as he prepared for what he knew was coming. He had to admit, at this point he was looking forward to leaving just to free himself from the constant pressure from Zuko and Katara trying to push him towards Nira. Yes, he understood the potential importance. Yes, he certainly wasn’t opposed in the slightest so long as it would be mutual. Yes, everything he wanted was everything she could give him. But that didn’t mean that it was alright to try and pressure her into anything, that didn’t mean that it was alright to take advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable place. He’d already firmly decided that he wasn’t going to attempt to exploit her, or coerce her, or force her into anything that she didn’t want for herself.

“I know you’re tired of Katara and I trying to push you two together,” Zuko quickly offered, lifting his hands in mock surrender before quietly adding, “but I think you would be good for each other.” It was the first time Zuko had spoken of Nira without that underlying tone of pressure in his voice. He was finally just stating his own personal opinion with no attempt to push him towards her. “She’s only two years younger than you, she’s the best chance the two of you are ever gonna have to rebuild the airbenders, and even though she’s clearly been hurt in the past, you’re the gentlest person I know.” He continued quietly, lowering his hands back down to his sides as he softly finished, “If anyone can gain her trust, it’s you.”

Aang didn’t reply for a long moment, his gaze slowly drifting back over the Nira and Appa, watching as his bison licked a stripe up her hand. “I’m her teacher.” He stated simply, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“And when you’re no longer her teacher?” Zuko questioned, curiosity tainting his voice.

“It would also be _her_ choice,” Aang answered. He hadn’t made it a secret that he would happily take whatever she _wanted_ to give him. But until she made it explicitly clear that she wanted something more than a mentor, he was going to stick with the role he’d resigned himself to play.

“She’ll choose you,” Zuko assured him immediately, no hint of doubt in his voice.

Aang looked over at his friend, shaking his head slightly as he asked, “How can you be so sure?”

Zuko smirked at the question, nudging Aang’s side with an elbow before playfully answering, “You’re the _Avatar_.”

Aang rolled his eyes at the quip, a playful half-smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he quietly replied, “That didn’t exactly seal the deal last time.” Zuko fell silent at the statement, fully aware of the fact that Aang was talking about Katara.

Thankfully, the silence didn’t get a chance to linger for too long before Katara finally stepped out into the courtyard, drawing Nira’s attention away from Appa with a quick greeting before she finally stopped before her husband and Aang. “I hope you’ll return soon.” She offered, giving Aang a warm smile as she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. He swallowed thickly at the simple contact, trying to ignore the almost pained fluttering in his chest. 

“Of course I will,” Aang replied, giving her a warm smile even though it felt like someone was trying to rip his soul apart with their bare hands. He ignored the pain, he knew that he needed to let her go and move on, and this was the first step he needed to take in that journey. “Before I go, I do have one thing I need to do though.” He explained, watching as confusion pulled at Katara’s features before he finished, “Would you allow me to give your child my blessing?”

Confusion quickly turned to shock, and then annoyance as Katara shot a glare at her husband. “You told him?” She questioned grumpily, her voice rising as Zuko seemed to almost shrink in response.

“Of course I didn't!” He quickly defended, earning a skeptical look from his clearly unamused wife. “He's the Avatar!” Zuko exclaimed, gesturing towards Aang with an open hand as he added, “He's got weird spirit stuff going on!” 

“Oh, don't go blaming this on Aang's _spirit stuff_ ,” Katara scolded him, her voice stern as she rolled her eyes at her husbands' excuses.

Zuko let out a huff at her words, his shoulders slumping as he finally settled his gaze on Aang before pleading, “Could you back me up here?”

Aang chuckled at the desperation in his friend's voice, stepping forward and resting a hand on Katara’s shoulder before he explained, “Zuko didn't tell me.” Katara gave him a skeptical look at the statement, and he quickly explained, “You have a second soul attached to you. It's kinda a dead giveaway.” 

“Oh,” Katara muttered, giving him a strange look for a moment before she added, “I didn't know that you could… sense that.” 

“It's a fairly recent development,” Aang offered simply, doing his best to downplay the skill. “I've had a lot of time these last few years to really figure out the extent of my abilities.” He shrugged as he gave the explanation, not bothering to get any deeper into it. He really didn’t want to spend the next hour trying to explain exactly why he could sense such things these days. “So?” Aang pressed, offering Katara a smile as he waited for her answer.

A small smile quickly bloomed across Katara’s face, and she nodded before she finally answered, “I'd be honored to have _the Avatar_ give my firstborn his blessing.”

Aang couldn’t help but smile at the playful way she drawled out his title, chuckling as he closed the gap between them. She seemed confused with what was supposed to happen next when he rested a hand on the juncture of her neck and shoulder, pressing his thumb against the smooth hollow of skin between her collarbones. “Don’t worry, I’ve done this before. Once.” He offered playfully, drawing a snort of laughter from her before he pressed his other hand against her stomach, feeling the barely there beginnings of a bulge that her clothes easily hid.

He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath before slowly letting it out as he focused on entering the Avatar state. He could feel it the second he did, the sudden rush of power, the feeling of his previous lives at his fingertips, the soft whisper at the very back of his mind that wanted to know why the power was being called upon. He drew in another deep breath as he used the energybending techniques the lionturtle had given him years ago, reaching out towards the two nearest souls.

It was easy to tell Katara apart from her unborn child, she was stronger, brighter, familiar. He bypassed her, and instead focused on the smaller soul. It drew away from him when he came to close, and he stopped for a moment, waiting for it to come to him on its own. It took a long moment for it to creep forward, it’s timidity almost stronger than it’s curiosity. He knew from the last time he did this for one of his air acolytes that all it would take was one little brush to get a good feel for the person who would soon be joining Katara and Zuko’s lives. 

Time was more of an illusion than anything when he was like this, but part of him could tell that it was taking a little while for it to warm up to him. But finally, it pressed closer, reaching out and ever so lightly brushing against him. It was just as much of a shock this time as it was the last, the sudden knowledge of exactly what made up this unique individual. It was kind, gentle, empathetic, curious, timid, a little sad. It pulled back quickly, retreating a bit as he mulled over what he wanted to give it. He knew from experience that he could offer it one gift. A small part of himself that he thought would most benefit it, something it needed.

Part of him wanted to give it happiness, but he knew that wasn’t the best he could offer it, not for the life it was about to take on. This was the heir to the Fire Nation throne, the next ruler of a great nation. It was already kind, empathetic, gentle. All good traits for a compassionate ruler. The timidity, on the other hand, that would only hold it back in the future. A ruler needed to be bold, they needed to know their worth and their power and not be afraid to wield it. And so he settled on boldness, a fitting offering for a future Firelord. 

When he approached it this time it didn’t withdrawal, some sort of understanding established between the two of them now that it knew his soul. He managed to summon forth a bit of his own boldness, fully knowing that all it needed was a taste for it before it could create its own. He made it obvious that he had a gift to give, and then he waited a moment before it finally accepted his offering. Drawing closer as it gently reached out and accepted the gift, tentatively at first, and then with more surety.

When he began to pull away, it quickly reached out again, gently pressing against him for a brief moment, and even though souls weren’t capable of words, he could tell that it was a silent offering of thanks. He returned the barely-there touch before finally pulling away for the last time.

Coming back to the physical world - to his physical body - was always a strange sensation; like water being poured into a cup, pressing against edges that were almost just a little too tight, being forced to fill tiny crevices to fit all the way. It was horribly confining, especially given the complete and total freedom he’d experienced a few moments ago. It was odd to have almost no sensation, just to immediately be overwhelmed by the sounds of a fountain gurgling a few feet away, the crispness of a breeze blowing against the back of his neck, the soft swish of fabric around his legs. The term sensory overload seemed like it wouldn’t do the feeling justice.

He drew in a deep breath, taking a moment to acclimate to the feeling of his own body before he opened his eyes. Colors were almost too bright, a problem he was used to after visiting the spirit world so much, and he knew it would take half a minute before they finally went back to normal. He pulled his hands away from Katara’s body, meeting her bright blue gaze before giving her a small smile. “There’s a lot of kindness in that one.” He offered as he took a small step back, removing himself from her personal space. “I gave it something that seemed appropriate, something it’ll need in this life.”

“And what’s that?” Zuko questioned, something protective in his friends' voice, not that he could blame the man; he knew that if anyone tampered with his child he’d probably feel more than just _a little_ protective.

Aang turned slightly at the question, meeting his friends warm amber gaze and wetting his lips with his tongue before he answered, “Boldness.”

Zuko’s eyes widened for a moment, and then a smile began to pull at the corner of his mouth, but Aang’s attention was quickly pulled back to Katara when her soft voice broke the quiet, “Aang.” Her voice cracked slightly on the single syllable of his name, her eyes wet with unshed tears as she reached out and took his larger hand in both of her own, her thumbs rubbing across his knuckles slowly as she breathlessly offered, “Thank you.”

He gave her a small smile at the simple words, both of them well aware that this was far more than a ‘thank you for giving my child your blessing’. Rather, it was a mixture of things; _thank you for accepting my decision to marry Zuko_ , _thank you for sticking around even though I know it was painful to_ , _thank you for making sure that there would be a world safe enough for me to want to bring a new life into_ , _thank you for letting go_.

Aang swallowed thickly, nodding once before reaching out and resting his free hand on top of hers. “You found your happiness, Katara.” He stated simply, giving her delicate hands a gentle squeeze before he finished, “I’m happy for you.” It hurt a little to say such simple words, but it was time. She was happily married, she was having a child, and as much as he might wish that he was the one sharing her bed and preparing to welcome a new life into the world, he wasn’t. All he could do now was rest secure in the fact that she was safe. That she was _happy_.

A beaming smile lit up her face at his words, and before he could prepare for the onslaught, she was throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him close. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, her warm breath tickling his skin as he finally managed to spur himself to wrap his arms around her in return. He drew in a shaking breath as he pressed his cheek against the side of her head, relishing in the silky brush of her hair against his skin. “You’ll find yours too.” She breathed, almost too quiet for him to hear before she pulled away far too quickly. 

He offered her a warm smile as he released her, breathing out a quiet, “Thank you.” She nodded at the two simple words, and he took a small step backward as he leveled his sights on Zuko, lifting a hand and offering him a mock salute as he playfully quipped, “Flameo.” A grin quickly spread over Zuko’s face at the simple word, snorting as he rolled his eyes before breaking down into a fit of chuckles.

Aang smiled at the sight before finally turning to face Appa and Nira, his eyes quickly settling on the younger airbender as she stared at Katara like she was trying to piece together some sort of riddle. The perplexed look quickly vanished as she noticed him approaching, her gaze drifting over to him as her eyes grew wide, and he quickly figured that she was probably just a little surprised; after all, it wasn’t every day that you got to see a person start randomly glowing.

He stopped a few feet back, giving her a smile before playfully asking, “Ready for a fresh start?” 

Nira smiled at the question, nodding once as she answered, “Yeah.” 

His grin grew at her answer, and he quirked an eyebrow as he gestured towards Appa’s saddle. Her line of sight followed his movement, and she pursed her lips slightly before jumping up, using her airbending to attempt to stabilize the shaky landing. He made a silent mental note to add balance to the list of things that she needed to work on before she would be good enough to get her tattoos.

Aang followed after her a moment later, easily landing on Appa’s back before taking a seat on the bisons wide shoulders. He leaned down and ran a hand through the thick, coarse fur, patting him twice and earning a content grumble. “Appa, we’re going home.” He said softly, earning a rumble of understanding as he reached out and took the reins in his hands. “Yip-yip.”


	6. I Doubt You Could Ever Bore Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Life's been crazy. :)

The wind whipped at Nira’s hair as she stared out at the red-orange sunset. It was almost too much to fathom how quickly things had changed. This time yesterday her world had been completely flipped upside down. The day before she’d been locked in a cell for the sixth day in a row. And now here she was, high above the clouds on the back of a sky bison with the Avatar. It seemed surreal, like some sort of fever dream that she was destined to wake up from at any moment.

It wasn’t until Aang sat down beside her, apparently having abandoned his previous post on Appa’s broad shoulders, that she suddenly realized how cold it was. The air blowing around her was icy compared to the heat emanating from him, and she quickly suppressed the urge to press into his personal space, to seek out more of that warmth. She shook the thought away as quickly as it had occurred to her, silently scolding herself for even thinking something like that in the first place. Spirits, she’d barely even known him for a day, it wasn’t like she had feelings for him or anything. 

Right?

“I’ve never been this high up before.” She quickly stated, distracting herself from her own question as she pushed it away in some dark crevice of her mind where she could avoid it for what would hopefully be the foreseeable future. 

“We’ll have to get you a sky bison of your own,” Aang remarked, his voice soft, tinged with something that sounded like a mixture of reminiscence and melancholy. 

Nira paid the emotion choking his voice little mind, her attention firmly fixated on the words themselves rather than the air that they were uttered with. “I thought they were all hunted to extinction.” She breathed, staring at Aang with wide eyes as he pried his gaze away from the fiery sunset.

“Just like we were?” He questioned, his silver eyes perfectly reflecting the bright orange and red colors that were currently smeared across the sky. If it wasn’t for the soft curve of a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, Nira would have taken the simple question all too seriously. It felt odd to try and make light of something as serious as the genocide of an entire race of people, and when a long beat of silence passed with no response, his mood quickly sobered. “It took some searching, but I found a wild herd a few years ago. They’re living at the air temples again.”

“That’s incredible,” Nira breathed, shaking her head softly as she pulled her eyes away from his, watching as the sun continued its descent below the horizon. “You’ve already done so much with your life.” She muttered softly, tapping her fingers against one of her legs as she thought about what she’d accomplished in her years. She hadn’t ended a hundred-year war and brought peace to the world, she hadn’t re-domesticated a herd of twelve-ton bison, she hadn’t traveled the world or restored the ruins of four air temples. Most of her days had been spent making sure that she didn’t leave any easily trackable remnants of her presence, trying to figure out which tree would be the driest to sleep under when it rained, wondering when she was going to find her next meal. She knew that her life so far had basically amounted to nothing, and it was hard _not_ to feel inferior in Aang’s presence, even if he was humble about everything he’d done. 

“And as a result, I never got to enjoy the latter half of my childhood,” Aang quickly responded, and she pulled her eyes up to meet his as he finished, “There’s nothing wrong with getting a late start, Nira. It doesn’t make you any _less_ of an airbender.”

She knew that his words were meant to make her feel better, and even though they didn’t exactly accomplish that goal she still appreciated the simple fact that he’d _tried_ to make her feel better. Part of her wanted to explain that she’d probably never live up to the standards of the people who came before her, and that she would certainly _never_ do anything in her life that was even as remotely important as the things he did on a normal Tuesday. She held all of that back though, and instead choose to turn the conversation towards a much lighter path. 

“Would you look at that, already receiving the wise teachings of my master,” Nira quipped playfully, nudging his side with her elbow.

Aang chuckled softly at the playful jab, giving her a sideways glance before he returned the banter, “I must be boring you, you didn’t agree to train under me so you could learn philosophy.”

Nira rolled her eyes and scoffed at the statement, shaking her head as she murmured, “I doubt you could ever bore me.” In all reality, she was amazed that she was even sitting there talking to him. He was the Avatar. Surely he had to have better things to do with his time than train her.

Aang’s voice pulled her from those thoughts, a single eyebrow quirked and a smile pulling at his mouth as he spoke up, “Challenge accepted.”

Nira snorted at the two simple words, rolling her eyes as she huffed out a silent laugh. Aang’s smile grew at the sound, and a moment of silence lapsed on before he pulled his gaze back over to the sunset spread before them, now dark shades of indigo and violet. 

She was more than content to let the silence linger, it was comfortable. Besides, it gave her a chance to clear her mind, or try to, at the very least. She had to admit, it was harder than it should be right now, especially when she finally got to be around someone who was close to her own age. A _guy_ close to her own age, who - if she allowed herself to admit it - was more than just easy on the eyes. She shook the thought away as quickly as it had arrived. He was _the Avatar_ , for spirits sake, he was _her teacher_. He could have any woman he wanted. It wasn’t like she was a ravishing beauty, or highly-educated, or from a wealthy family. She had literally nothing to offer. She didn't even know him. She shouldn't want to offer him _anything_. 

Before she could stumble too far down that path of thought, his voice was breaking the quiet once more, “So, what do you know of our culture?”

She glanced over at the question, her mind stuttering to catch up with the sudden change of subject. It took a moment before she managed to conjure up the scraps of information her parents had told her over the years; “We were nomads. Traveling the world to learn more about other cultures, other people.” She tapped her fingers against her leg, thinking for a second before she added, “We were peaceful, the only nation that didn’t have any form of military. Masters didn’t learn bending to fight; they learned it because it was their craft, their passion, their culture.” 

“About half of our population were monks, the other half were explorers, intellectuals.” She continued simply. She was beginning to struggle to think of anything more, until she remembered the little things about her upbringing that were never really explained more than once. “Marriage was uncommon, because of our drifting natures. Because of that, we always had the smallest population. And that was also why…” She trailed off for a long moment, swallowing thickly as she tried to ignore the way her cheeks were heating up, “… the tri-annual orgies were a thing, to keep our population from dwindling dangerously.” 

Thankfully, Aang didn’t seem off-put in the slightest. He simply nodded at her answer before offering a quiet, “Not bad.” Before she could decipher whether or not ‘not bad’ was meant as a form of praise, or if it was a way to hide some sort of disappointment, he was already going on, “I’ll have to assess your skills when we get to the temple. Evaluate how much more training you need, where your weaknesses are.” She struggled to think of a proper response to the quietly muttered statement, a little unsure of whether he was letting her know what to expect, or if he was simply talking to himself.

“Anyways…” Aang trailed off, drawing in a deep breath before focusing the full brunt of his gaze on her. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Myself?” Nira questioned, her forehead furrowing as she gave him a dubious look. 

“You’re the only other airbender I’ve seen in a century, I want to know about you.” He chuckled, offering her a smile as he nudged her arm with an elbow. 

Nira deadpanned at the statement, raising a single eyebrow as she skeptically questioned, “A century?” 

“Oh, right,” Aang murmured, a soft huff of laughter escaping him before he quickly added, “I’m old. I know, I age great, you don’t have to tell me.” He gave her a smug look, leaning in closer as he dramatically whispered, “And no, I will not tell you my skincare secrets.”

Nira snorted and rolled her eyes at the playful quip, shaking her head as she gave him a quick once over. “There’s no way you’re over twenty.” He lifted a single eyebrow at her statement, giving her a doubtful look that had her re-evaluating how old he seemed to be. “Twenty-two, but that’s it.” 

He smiled at the guess before leaning back slightly as his solemn voice broke the quiet, “I’m a hundred and eighteen.” 

Nira shook her head at the statement, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth before she realized that Aang’s all too serious expression was still rooted firmly in place. “Wait…” Nira trailed off, her eyes flicking quickly across his form once more. “Seriously?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“You aren’t going to die on me tomorrow, are you?” She questioned softly, and Aang laughed at the query; a deep, rich chortle that made her smile just a bit from the sound of it.

“I doubt it.” He answered, his voice tainted with humor. “I didn’t age for a hundred years of that. I am _quite literally_ the oldest young person around.” His smile faded as he spoke, something almost reminiscent taking up residence in his eyes before he pushed it away a moment later, settling his sights on her as he continued, “But, that’s a story for different day. We’re talking about you, remember?”

Nira swallowed thickly as she looked out over the rapidly darkening horizon. “I mean…” She trailed off uncertainly, trying to come up with anything that a normal person would respond with. It wasn’t like she’d ever had the time or ability to pick up hobbies, or make friends, or really even do half of the things that normal people got to do. “I’ve been spending my whole life hiding. Surviving. I’ve never really had a chance to be myself… I guess.” She explained, offering him a simple shrug as she did her best to pretend like it didn’t bother her that she’d drawn the short stick in life.

Aang was silent for a long moment after she finished, and when she glanced over she saw him staring out at the skyline, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “Well, that’s over now.” He finally spoke up, his voice low as he glanced over at her, offering her a small half-smile before he continued, “It looks like you have some soul searching to do when we get home.”

Nira faltered at the last word he’d uttered, staring at him mutely for a few lingering seconds. When she finally spoke up, her voice was barely even a whisper, “Home?” The word felt fragile in her mouth. Sacred. She’d never had a home. She’d never even entertained the thought that one day she _might_ have a home. Some small space that she could call her own. A roof and four walls. For something so simple, it sure made quite the impact. 

“Of course the air temple’s are your home, so long as you want them to be.” Aang’s answer was simple, to the point; as though he didn’t realize how much it meant to come out of nowhere and tell her that she had a right to the temples her ancestors had built. That she _belonged_ at them. That they belonged to _her_. She couldn’t help but smile at the statement, taking a moment to let it really sink in. She had to admit, it felt a little unreal. 

It wasn’t until she shivered in the cold night air that Aang’s quiet voice broke the lingering silence, “Cold?”

She glanced over at the soft question, her eyes meeting his for a moment before she asked, “Are you not? It’s freezing.” 

The beginnings of a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth at her words, barely even a moment passing before he spoke, “Your parents never taught you how to control the air temperature, did they?”

“We can do that?” The awed question immediately drew a chuckle from him, a deep, warm noise that made her stomach flutter. A miffed expression flitted across her face at the feeling, and she quickly blamed it on lunch, surely it was just something that didn't agree with her. 

“We can.” Humour tainted the two simple words, and Nira couldn’t help but blush slightly at his tone. Spirits. She probably sounded like an idiot, asking him what the full extent of her abilities were. Aang’s voice broke the quiet before she could chide herself too much, something almost contemplative tainting his tone, “I suppose it’s time for your first lesson then.” She quickly glanced up at the statement, catching his eye a half-second before he added, “Get in the meditation position.”

Nira stared at him blankly long enough for Aang to lift a hand and urge her on, finally spurring her to lift a single eyebrow and garner the courage to ask another stupid question of the Avatar, “The what?”

“You know, when you meditate.” He pressed, and after a lingering beat of silence he finally seemed to realize just how lost she was. “Oh spirits…” He trailed off quietly, his voice a long sigh that died in the wind before he drew in a deep breath and shifted slightly, settling into his spot. “Okay then, it’s like this.” He offered simply as he adjusted the way his legs were crossed and slotted the curves of his knuckles together like puzzle pieces. 

Nira went to mimic him a moment later, balling her hands into fists before pressing her knuckles together, adjusting the way her crossed legs rested atop each other. It wasn’t an uncomfortable way to sit, it was just so foreign to her that she couldn’t help but shift slightly, trying to get more blood flowing through her legs. 

Aang looked her over for a long moment, and she tried to ignore the way his scrutinizing gaze made her skin heat up. “Not bad, you just need a few minor adjustments.” He offered softly, leaning in before gently pressing the pad of his thumb and middle finger just below her collarbone on either side of her chest. She swallowed thickly at the innocent contact, doing her best to ignore the way his hand easily spanned almost the entire length of her chest as he pressed her back slightly. His free hand found the curve of her spine a half-second later, resting just between her shoulder blades as he pressed her forward, easily correcting her slouched posture.

As quickly as his hands had found their places in the gently curving hollows of her body they flitted away. Before she even had a chance to draw in a proper breath his index finger was curling under her chin as he carefully tilted her head up, continuing to fix the little flaws in her posture. She tensed at the feeling, silently praying that he wasn’t able to feel the erratic, unsteady pace of her blood pounding in her veins. He pulled away a moment later, and she swore to herself that the way his hand lingered was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. 

His hand found the tense line of her shoulders next, his fingertips tapping lightly against the hard line of muscle hiding just under her robes. “Relax.” She drew in a deep breath at the command, even though she knew it was pointless. _Relax_. How was she supposed to relax with his hands roaming across her skin with such ease that it seemed to be his second nature? “Your energy can’t flow if you don’t let it.” He added, and she drew in another deep breath at the statement even though the whole notion of making the air seem warmer seemed meaningless now. If anything she was too hot. She needed the air around her to be cooler.

She wasn’t sure how long it took to finally relax, the hard lines of her body loosening as her heart rate slowed back to normal. But almost as soon as she noticed the last of the tension leave her body, Aang’s soft voice was breaking the tranquil quiet, “Good. Now close your eyes. Breathe.” She did as he asked a moment later, drawing a deep breath as he added, “Feel the way the air moves around you. What does it feel like?”

“Strong. Swift. Dense.” The answer was automatic, natural. It came to her just as easily as airbending did.

“How does warm air feel different?”

“It’s softer. Lighter. More… energetic,” Nira answered, a beat slower this time as she searched for the right words to describe the differences. 

“Good.” She couldn’t help but smile a bit at the pleased note in his voice before it quickly lost its warm edge, his words growing more neutral as he continued, “Now envision yourself, here, now. Envision the air moving around you. And envision the area around yourself, the sphere of air encompassing your body.”

“And then?” She pressed, her eyebrows pursing together as she struggled not to let her concentration on the surrounding air slip away.

“Enforce your will on that sphere. Make it softer, lighter,” Aang explained, and she pursed her lips into a thin line at the explanation, trying to figure out exactly how she was supposed to accomplish that feat. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before Aang’s voice broke the silence again, but she had a feeling it had been more than long enough for him to have expected to see some sort of results by now, “Breathe deep, and focus. Take your own energy, and inject it into the space around yourself.” 

She didn’t bother to nod at his words, or even give him any indication that she’d heard him, instead she simply focused on trying to do what he’d said. It was hard enough just to try and keep the air around her focused, to keep it from being pushed away in the breeze. It was even harder to do that _and_ try to control the energy of it at the same time. “I know, it’s hard the first time. Just breathe, and focus. Imagine the change in your mind, and then push it out into the world,” Aang offered, a gentle encouragement that probably did more than he realized for her ego. She had to admit, she felt like she was failing quite splendidly at the moment.

Nira scrunched her face in concentration as she focused on following the instructions she was given. Trying to forget about forcing the air to move on her command, and focusing on simply keeping it in the same place, focusing on letting it feed off of her energy rather than forcing it to accept her energy. It took a while for her to finally feel the change, the warmth that lingered around her. She smiled at the feeling. And when she opened her eyes she blinked in the low light, eyes adjusting to the darkness before she noticed Aang’s hand stirring the air beside her, testing it.

A moment passed before he realized she was watching him, a beaming smile filling his face as he let his hand fall away. “Good job.” The simple offering filled her with joy. Even back when she was little, when her parents had taught her airbending, there had been no praise. Only worried, whispered reminders of what would happen to her if she couldn’t learn, if she couldn’t protect herself, if she couldn’t control it. Praise felt better than she’d ever thought it could, not that she’d ever thought that she’d receive any.

“Thank you,” Nira offered quietly, the words meant equally for the lesson, and for the method of teaching he employed. This was the first time that she could remember actually enjoying learning something new about her airbending. 

“For what? You did this on your own,” Aang reminded her, staring down at her with a puzzled expression.

“Yeah, but you taught me how.” She explained simply, offering him a lame shrug before she added, “You’re a really good teacher.”

Aang smiled at the compliment, seeming to mull over the words for a moment before softly offering, “And you’re a very talented pupil.”

Nira blushed slightly at the words, quickly turning her head towards the inky, twinkling expanse of the night sky in hopes that it would hide the heat searing under her skin. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining the awkward feeling that began to grow as the silence began to linger, the weight of it pressing down, suffocating. So, she did what she always did when she was stuck in an awkward conversation; she tried to make small talk, not that it ever worked out the way she wanted it to, especially when she was prone to blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“So what’s with you and Katara?” She regretted the words the second they left her lips, silently scolding herself for the entirely improper question.

“Katara?” Aang echoed her, his voice surprised. 

Nira swallowed at the mention of her name, her eyes meeting Aang’s for a long moment before she simply decided, _fuck it_. She wanted to know, and the only way she was ever going to figure it out was if she asked. “You guys clearly have a past.”

Aang rolled his eyes at her words, an almost cheeky smile pulling at his mouth as he let out a huff of laughter. It wasn’t until the huff turned into a sigh that his resigned voice spoke, “It’s that obvious, is it?” Nira simply nodded at the question, humming a quiet affirmative as she watched his shoulders fall slightly, that same weight she’d noticed the other night taking up residence in his posture.

He was silent after that for so long that she began to wonder if he was even going to answer, with every moment that passed she began to feel more and more like the conversation was over. By the time that he finally spoke up, she’d already accepted that the topic was off limits. “For a hundred years I was trapped, frozen in an iceberg in the Avatar state. Until Katara found me. I was twelve when she freed me, or a hundred and twelve, depending on how you want to look at it. We traveled together, along with her brother, Sokka; going from nation to nation as I learned to master the four elements.” Nira stared at him with wide eyes as he recounted his past with ease, silently hanging on the end of every word. “She was my waterbending teacher. I became a waterbending master under her guidance. We were close friends. But, for me, it was something _more_ than friends.”

“You liked her,” Nira stated simply, watching as Aang’s eyes flicked up to meet hers for a long moment. 

“I _loved_ her.” He corrected a moment later, his voice gravely serious. She swallowed at the bare honesty of the statement, a long beat of silence passing before he continued the story. “Eventually more people joined us, Toph, Zuko. Katara and Zuko hated each other at first, but they grew closer over time.” He trailed off for a bit after that, taking a moment to himself before he went on, “We kissed once or twice before I defeated firelord Ozai, and after that… things got… _more_ complicated. She was already having second thoughts about whether or not she wanted something before Ozai’s defeat. And when it was finally over…” 

Aang was silent for a while after he trailed off, clearly caught up in the memories of his past. When he finally continued the story, he picked up in an entirely different spot, changing the topic just enough to throw her off-kilter for a moment. “Zuko saved her life while I was handling Ozai. He almost died doing so. After that, they were practically inseparable.”

Nira was quiet for a bit after the explanation, mulling over what he'd told her, making sense of it all. When she finally spoke up her voice was soft, “She saw him as her hero.”

“Whereas she saw me as _the Avatar_.” Nira almost flinched at the steely note of self-loathing in his voice as he uttered his title. Silently wondering why someone so powerful wouldn't enjoy their rank. “The means to an end of a hundred-year war that was my fault to begin with.” His voice softened significantly as he spoke, losing its harsh edge as it turned almost ashamed. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Nira replied gently. He’d said almost the same thing when they’d first met, that it was _his_ fault the genocide happened. It was almost like he didn’t realize that it was firelord Sozin’s fault, firelord Azulon’s fault, firelord Ozai’s fault. He didn’t start the war, he didn’t continue it, it wasn’t his fault.

“It was Avatar Roku’s fault. Therefore it’s my fault,” Aang responded almost immediately, every word resigned.

“So what? You’re to blame for the mistakes of your past lives?” Nira questioned, scoffing and shaking her head at the thought of it. “They aren’t you.”

Aang was silent for another long moment as soon as she finished, and she quickly glanced over to find his mouth pursed into a thin line, his eyebrows pursed together. And then, he switched back to the story he was telling before they got sidetracked, a trait of his that Nira was quickly growing accustomed to. “After a few weeks things began to settle down again, and it was just time for me to head back to my own life. I told myself that I would gather up the courage to tell her how I felt before I left. I knew that if I didn’t, it would all be over.”

“Did you tell her?”

“I did.”

“And?”

Aang glanced over at the question, lifting a single eyebrow before he asked, “Well, she’s married to Zuko, isn’t she?”

Nira swallowed at the blunt question. Right. Why had she bothered asking? She could have put two and two together on her own. “I’m sorry, Aang.” She offered a second later. She’d never loved anyone, at least not in the romantic sense of the word, but she knew it couldn’t be pleasant to lose someone like that.

“It’s alright. I’ve come to terms with it,” Aang explained a moment later, his melancholy voice lightening slightly as he added, “Perhaps it was for the best, in the long run.”

“You really think so?”

Aang nodded at her question, his eyes meeting hers before he explained, “I loved Katara, but I was young. And perhaps I just needed to wait, to have faith that I would find the right person in due time.”

“Have you?” Nira asked, partially out of curiosity, and partially out of something a little more… selfish.

He smiled slightly at the question, a soft thing that tugged at the very corner of his mouth. “I think I finally may have, yes.” 

The slight pang that radiated through her chest at the answer was entirely unexpected, and it caught her by surprise. It was new, unfamiliar, and she didn’t even have a name to put to it. Disappointment, perhaps. It was the closest feeling that she could put a name to at least. She swallowed thickly, doing her best to force the unwanted emotion to the side as forget that it ever existed in the first place. It had no right to exist. “That’s good.” She offered after a beat of silence, plastering a fake smile on her face that he returned with one that was clearly genuine. 

Almost a minute dragged on before Nira finally spoke up again, offering the first excuse she could think of to put some space between the two of them, at least for a few hours, at least until she could figure out what was going on with herself. “I think I’m going to try and get some rest.”

“Sleep well, Nira,” Aang offered as soon as her words faded in the air, giving her a warm smile that she struggled to return as she stood up before offering her own farewell for the night.

“You too, Aang.”


End file.
